While it hasn’t been a record-breaking November, temperatures were tracking 10 to 15 degrees above normal, according to Amanda Wagner, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in State College.
Meanwhile, waking up today, McKean County residents will be seeing a familiar white coat on Mother Nature.
“Through Wednesday morning, there are two to four inches of snow forecast for McKean County. The bulk of that is starting (Monday) night through Tuesday night. After Wednesday, it starts to warm up,” Wagner said.
Along with the wintry white, temperatures are forecast to be below normal today and Wednesday. Beginning Thursday and running through Sunday, however, the thermometer rollercoaster is climbing again, with temperatures forecast to be above normal.
Wagner said the high forecast for Saturday is 54.
McKean County is still in a drought, according to the US Geological Survey Drought Monitor. In fact, Wagner noted that the northeast half of the county is in a severe drought, while the southwest is considered to be in moderate drought conditions.
A monthly drought outlook, released by the Climate Prediction Center, has McKean County remaining in a drought throughout the winter.
Wagner explained that this is because there is less water in snow than in rain, with two inches of light fluffy snow, melted down, providing much less water than two inches of rain.
Wagner noted that Thanksgiving is a bit far out for accurate predictions, but as of right now, the weather may not be kind to hunters heading out for the first day of antlered deer season Nov. 28.
“The Climate Prediction Center predicts the next two weeks, and right now the prediction is higher than normal temperatures with higher than normal precipitation,” Wagner said. “It could be a temperature slightly above normal and wet for Thanksgiving.”
However, it’s still too early to tell.
