The United States is ready for the dynamic weather phenomena known as witch storms in November. November is the month when fall transitions into winter, and the weather can be unpredictable in the early months. Witch storms, which are defined as powerful Midwest windstorms, are one such event.
Midwest windstorms (also known as thunderstorms) are violent windstorms that form in the Midwestern United States, or the country’s northern central region. Windstorms are common in this area around late October or early November. Witch storms are one such climatic occurrence. Let’s decipher this strangely labeled storm.
What exactly are witch storms?
Witch storms are windstorms that arise in the fall when temperatures rise from north to south over the United States. According to The Weather Channel, the increase in temperature creates greater low-pressure systems, which cause violent winds or windstorms.
These winds have an infamous history of intensifying in early November, earning them the moniker “Witches of November.”
Winds from these storms can cause tree damage and widespread power outages. According to The Weather Channel, these storms pose a significant risk to shipping on the Great Lakes. One of these witch storms wrecked the massive iron ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior in November 1975.
The month of November will be cloudier
According to The Weather Channel, this month is often the cloudiest of the year in regions of the Northern Plains and upper Midwest of the United States. The foggy peak will reach other regions of the country in December. However, the average November sky will be at least 70% cloudy across the Great Lakes, interior Northeast, and Pacific Northwest.
Severe weather outbreaks are possible throughout November.
November is historically prone to severe weather outbreaks. According to The Weather Channel, last November saw an above-average 68 tornadoes, the majority of which were in the South of the United States.
On November 4, deadly tornadoes ravaged Texas and Oklahoma, followed by Alabama early on November 30. Meteorologists base their predictions on these occurrences, are predicting large outbreaks in November 2023 too. It is mostly because of the windstorms occurring in the Deep South, where warm, moist air is more common.