For those who are still scrambling for explanations on why gasprices have reached record levels, Salomon Smith Barney (SSB)meteorologist Jon Davis offered a brief synopsis last week of whathappened with the weather last month. November 2000 was the secondcoldest November in 106 years and it was a complete reversal fromNovember 1999, which was the warmest November in 106 years.

The only November that was colder than the one this year was in1911. The coldest temperatures were concentrated in the westernhalf of the nation where most states had rankings in the top 10coldest Novembers. For Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Arizona, it was thesecond coldest November in 106 years, and for California, Coloradoand Nebraska, it was the third coldest November.

In the Midcontinent/Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, most ofthe rankings were in the 20s and 30s (on a 1-106 scale with 1 beingthe coldest and 106 being the warmest), which is significantlybelow normal but not as extreme as the rankings in the West, Davissaid in his report.

The only states that had above normal temperatures duringNovember were Maine and New Hampshire with rankings of 96 and 78,respectively.

November 1999 had a ranking of 106. “The differences on astate-by-state basis from this year to last are incredible – oneextreme to the other!” Davis said.

So far this heating season (which, according to Davis, runs fromJuly 1 through June 30), the vast majority of the nation hasexperienced above normal heating demand. The highest heating usagehas been in the more southern sections of the country where demandis running from 15% to as much as 60% above normal. The mostanomalous demand so far this season has been in the southern UnitedStates from Southern California to Texas to the Southeast.

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