Captain's Log 18 November 2019

Happy Monday. :)

If you like countdowns...there are 10 days until Thanksgiving, 37 days until Christmas (yikes) and 122 days until Spring (double yikes). CLICK ON IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEW.



The FLU season is getting off to a faster start in part due to the cold and snowy conditions the past couple weeks. Flu tends to ramp up in the Fall as it turns colder in part because the virus can survive on colder surfaces much longer than in warm weather. Turn on your heat and the humidity plummets in your home allowing the virus to survive longer as well so consider a humidifier with a 40% setting if you want to keep the bug a little less active.



Fall this year got off to a hot start in September but then the coldest and snowiest October in 10 years across the U.S. The cold trends continued into yesterday, but now 12 of the next 14 days show the nation as a whole trending warmer than average. A much needed reprieve. It's Q3 (Aug-Oct) earnings season on Wall Street and many companies mentioned the warm start hurting seasonal sales but a stronger finish with the coldest conditions in 30+ years at the end of the quarter.



Snowfall this season picked up in earnest by October with the snowiest start in 19 years, 5th most in 30 years with 73% above average snow.



But, as of this morning most of that snow is long gone with only 12.2% of the U.S. blanketed in snow vs an average of 15.7% and 28.9% last year. The peak snow cover for this date was back on 2014 when 50% of the country had snow on the ground.



Snowfall this week shows another storm moving out of the Central Rockies into the Upper Midwest midweek.



This week (18-24 Nov) shows a warmer trend with the U.S. trending +4.5F warmer than last year, warmest in 7 years and 10th warmest of the past 30 years. Rainfall is the most in 4 years, 7th most in 30 years while snowfall is similar to last year trending 22% below average.



Next week (25 Nov - 1 Dec) more of the same as the Central U.S. get a big warm up going into the Thanksgiving weekend. The U.S. overall looks to trend 3.3F warmer than last year, 8th warmest of the past 30 years with above average national temperatures. The West cools down. Rainfall is again wettest in 4 years while snowfall is less than last year with near average conditions.



For the World overall, the next two weeks show the really cold weather confined to Siberia while North America warms up.

We hope you have a great week and don't forget to follow us on social media for frequent updates. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Linkedin

- Kirk out