Brighter and warmer Wednesday; A look back at a very warm November

The high temperature reached 34 degrees in Alpena Tuesday, slightly below the long-term normal for the start December. Elsewhere across the Midwest, highs reached 42 degrees in St. Louis and 48 degrees in Omaha, Neb. Some of that warmth is heading in our direction Wednesday.

Wednesday: Sunny and breezy with warmer temperatures. Winds will come from the WNW, about 15 mph. Early-morning temperatures will be in the upper 20s. Temperatures will rise to the middle 30s in the late-morning. Afternoon highs will reach 42 degrees. Evening temperatures will cool to the middle/lower 30s. Winds will become noticeably lighter Wednesday night.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy, then a chance of nighttime flurries. Predawn temperatures will begin in the upper 20s. Afternoon highs will be near 39 degrees. Evening temperatures will be in the middle/lower 30s.

Friday: Mostly cloudy. Predawn lows will be near 29 degrees. Afternoon highs will climb to about 38 degrees. Evening temperatures will get close to 30 degrees.

Looking back at November — Temperatures were impressively warm. The average of all the daily highs was 52 degrees, which is 9 degrees above the long-term normal. November 4 and November 9, 77 degrees tied the warmest temperature for the month of November on record at Alpena airport. Low temperatures were also above normal, the average was 33 degrees throughout this past month. In part due to the warm temperatures, total snowfall measured exactly 4 inches, roughly half the normal amount for November snowfall.

An eight-day-long stretch of temperatures way above normal led to the impressive warmth reflected in the monthly average. High temperatures Nov. 4 through Nov. 11 warmed to the 60s and 70s, some 15 to 30 degrees above the long-term normal highs for those dates.