Climatological Background  During November, the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude storm tracks increase in strength, while monsoon systems in South Africa, Australia, and South America expand southward following the maximum solar heating. Tropical storm activity winds down in the North Atlantic, the North Pacific and northern Indian Oceans.

Monthly Mean Temperature (1961-1990), data from the Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia

DATA: Univ. of East Anglia

Monthly Mean Precipitation (1961-1990), with data from the Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia

DATA: Univ. of East Anglia

Temperatures Over Land

Temperatures were dramaticaly lower over portions of North America and Asia compared with recent trends.  Meanwhile, portions of eastern and northern Europe were unusually warm - as much as 5 C above average.  Details:

North America:  Most of the United States saw below average temperatures with eight western states seeing the coldest November in over 100 years.
Asia:  Unusually cold conditions persisted across north central Asia from the Urals eastward to the Pacific coast.  Temperatures were as much as 7 C below average across Siberia.
Europe:  Temperatures were well above average across most of Europe.  Eastern Europe and Scandinavia were as much as 5 C warmer than average.
Africa:  Warmer than average conditions were seen along coastal regions of West and North Africa.
Australia:  Below average temperatures prevailed across much of coastal Queensland with unseasonably warm conditions along the southern coast of the continent.
South America:  Generally colder than average across most of Argentina northward into Boliva and western Paraguay.  Slightly above average temperatures continued over much of Brazil.
 
 
 

Temperature Difference from the 1961-1990 mean, with data from NCEP Climate Prediction Center, CAMS.

NOAA NCEP CPC CAMS anomaly temperature anomaly

Precipitation

Unusually wet conditions continued across portions of western Europe.  Heavy rains caused havoc in Indonesia and eastern Australia.   Details: 

Europe:  For the second month in a row unusually heavy rain fell across the southern British Isles.  Precipitation was also well above average in western France and the Italian Alps.
Africa:  Above average rainfall from Tanzania southward into Zambia and Mozambique.  Eastern South Africa  was also unseasonably wet for November.
Indonesia:  Very heavy rainfall fell over Sumatra and Java.
Taiwan, Philippines:  Typhoons Xangsane and Bebinca brought exceptionally heavy rains.
Australia:  Rainfall was unusually heavy across most of Queensland and New South Wales with widespread flooding. 
South America:  Much of Brazil as well as northern Argentina saw above average rainfall.  Venezuela also had an unusually wet November while unusually dry weather dominated elsewhere north of the equator.
North America:  Rainfall was well above average across the southern US from New Mexico eastward to Georgia, easing some long term moisture shortages.  Sections of southeast Manitoba had the most intense rains in 90 years.
Caribbean:  Unusually dry conditions across much of the region.  Reports from Cuba indicate the recent drought  has been the worst in 50 years.
 

Precipitation Difference from 1961-1990 mean, with data from NCEP Climate Prediction Center, CAMS-OPI.

NOAA NCEP CPC CAMS_OPI v9906 anomaly Precipitation Anomaly (mm/day). Contours 0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8,...

Oceanic Conditions

Tropics:  Cooling in the equatorial eastern Pacific indicates a slight shift from near-neutral conditions towards that of a weak La  Nina.  However, cooling is typical in this region during the current season and the intensification of the existing weak La Nina conditions is not expected at this time.  Elsewhere, temperatures in the central Indian ocean remained above average.
Midlatitudes:  Above average water temperatures intensified to the south of Australia.   Above average conditions persisted in the northwestern North Pacific and in the central North Atlantic.

Monthly Sea Surface Temperature Difference from the 1950-1979 mean, with data from the Environmental Modeling Center, NCEP/NOAA.