In the Fargo-Moorhead record to 1881, there have been just 13 Novembers with temperatures in the 70s. Five of those had two days in the 70s and now this November is the first with three. Since 1893, Grand Forks has had six Novembers with days in the 70s. Two Novembers have produced two days in the 70s and two Novembers, including 2016 and this year, have had three.
There is a trend of these anomalously warm spells of November weather happening with greater frequency in recent decades as the climate has warmed. Seven of the 13 Novembers in Fargo have been in the last 48 years whereas the six remaining cases happened during the previous 92 years. For Grand Forks, five of the six cases on record have been in the past 48 years with only one during the previous 80. Climate change in our region is marked by trends in these less common conditions. We average fewer 25 below nights in winter and more nights warmer than 65 degrees in summer.
