November was 3rd warmest on record for Tucson

November in Tucson was one of the warmest on record. Third, to be exact.

And more of the same is expected for December, according to the National Weather Service.

Aaron Hardin, forecaster at NWS Tucson, said that November 2021 will stand alone in third place with an average high temperature of 82.7 degrees. Only November 2012 and 1894 saw higher averages, each topping out at 84.1 degrees, respectively.

For some context, this November’s average high of 82.7 degrees is more than three degrees higher than last November’s 79.5 and more than seven degrees above the normal average high temperature for the area of just above 75 degrees.

The average low for the month — 52.4 degrees — was also nearly three degrees higher than the monthly average of 49 degrees, Hardin said.

Tucson also tied the second-highest mark for days in November that exceed 80 degrees.

With the temperature climbing over 80 Tuesday, Tucson recorded its 24th day of at least 80-degree weather in November.

The record for days in November exceeding 80 degrees is 28, which was set in 1894.

For those hoping that December might bring some cooler weather for the holidays, the National Climate Prediction Center forecasts says it is expecting another dry, warmer-than-normal month.

“The current (model) has us in above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation,” Hardin said. “So it’s looking like this will continue.”

The above-normal temps can be attributed, at least in part, to the weather phenomenon known as La Niña.

The phenomenon results in cold waters in the Pacific pushing the jet stream northward. This often leads to droughts in the southern U.S. and heavy rains and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Similarly, Phoenix was on track to finish a warmer-than-usual month of November, the National Weather Service told the Associated Press.

If temperatures hit at least 80 degrees Tuesday, the NWS said Phoenix will have had 25 days at 80 degrees or higher. That would break the record set in November 1949 of 24 days of 80 degrees or higher temperatures.

The warm weather in Phoenix will extend into at least early December with a high of 82 degrees predicted on Wednesday and 80 on Thursday, weather service officials told the AP.