Boulder November Weather: Warm Spells, Cold Snaps and Thanksgiving
Boulder Weather in November: Warm Spells, Cold Snaps and Thanksgiving Week
In the 1991–2020 record, Boulder's November mean daily high varies more from year to year than any other month's. The official station has been at NIST since April 1990. Its 1991–2020 November mean daily high is 54.28°F with a standard deviation of 5.19, against 4.05 for October and 2.80 for December. The November mean daily low over the same period is 28.68°F, and Thanksgiving week falls at the cold end of the month's normals.
How warm can a Boulder November get?
The last seven Novembers show how wide the swing is. Mean highs at NIST were 52.2°F in 2019, 58.9°F in 2020, 62.6°F in 2021, 48.2°F in 2022, 58.5°F in 2023, 52.9°F in 2024 and 61.9°F in 2025. The 14.4°F gap between 2021 and 2022 came in back-to-back years.
The daily records point the same way. The highest record on any November date is 81°F, set on November 2, 2025. That same month added a 74°F record on the 13th, tying 1999, and a 78°F record on the 14th. Thanksgiving week 2017 set three records of its own: 72°F on November 24, 73°F on the 26th and 76°F on the 27th.
Normals drift down through the month, from a 57°F high and 34°F low on November 1 to 50°F and 26°F on November 30. The full November table for the NIST station, with the record high (highest daily maximum), record low (lowest daily minimum) and record one-day snowfall for each date:
| Nov | Normal high/low | Record high (year) | Record low (year) | Record daily snow (year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 57/34°F | 75°F (1988) | 10°F (1951) | 9.7 in (1972) |
| 2 | 56/30°F | 81°F (2025) | -2°F (1951) | 8.6 in (2011) |
| 3 | 57/31°F | 77°F (1915, 2015, 2020) | 1°F (1991) | 4.8 in (1990) |
| 4 | 58/32°F | 79°F (1952, 2020) | 14°F (1967) | 3.7 in (2022) |
| 5 | 57/31°F | 78°F (1952, 2023) | 6°F (1933) | 6.5 in (1951) |
| 6 | 58/32°F | 77°F (1980) | 11°F (1938) | 8.2 in (1990) |
| 7 | 56/32°F | 78°F (1980, 2021) | 9°F (1990) | 4.1 in (1998) |
| 8 | 56/30°F | 78°F (1978) | 17°F (1990) | 12.4 in (1950) |
| 9 | 55/30°F | 79°F (2019) | 5°F (1950) | 10.0 in (1985) |
| 10 | 57/30°F | 75°F (1956, 2005) | -3°F (1950) | 4.0 in (1997) |
| 11 | 54/29°F | 79°F (1989) | -1°F (1911) | 12.6 in (2018) |
| 12 | 54/29°F | 78°F (1989) | -2°F (1911) | 9.0 in (1979) |
| 13 | 53/29°F | 74°F (1999, 2025) | -11°F (2014) | 2.0 in (1980) |
| 14 | 55/28°F | 78°F (2025) | -2°F (1916) | 16.0 in (1994) |
| 15 | 54/29°F | 79°F (2016) | 1°F (1997) | 8.0 in (1987) |
| 16 | 52/28°F | 80°F (2016) | -1°F (2014) | 7.3 in (1996) |
| 17 | 52/29°F | 75°F (1981) | 4°F (1903) | 5.1 in (1969) |
| 18 | 51/28°F | 78°F (2008) | 2°F (1903) | 5.6 in (2022) |
| 19 | 53/28°F | 78°F (1989) | 5°F (2022) | 7.5 in (1956) |
| 20 | 52/28°F | 75°F (1939) | 3°F (1906) | 22.0 in (1979) |
| 21 | 50/26°F | 72°F (2012) | 0°F (1929) | 6.9 in (1992) |
| 22 | 52/25°F | 73°F (1939, 2006) | -7°F (1929) | 10.5 in (1999) |
| 23 | 52/27°F | 73°F (1939) | -2°F (2003) | 12.1 in (1992) |
| 24 | 53/27°F | 72°F (2017) | 3°F (1918) | 9.3 in (1992) |
| 25 | 53/29°F | 77°F (1990) | -8°F (1993) | 6.3 in (1952) |
| 26 | 51/27°F | 73°F (2017) | -1°F (1919) | 20.7 in (2019) |
| 27 | 48/25°F | 76°F (2017) | -12°F (1919) | 11.5 in (1983) |
| 28 | 49/24°F | 70°F (2014) | -12°F (1919) | 6.1 in (2004) |
| 29 | 49/24°F | 76°F (1899) | 1°F (1919) | 11.8 in (2006) |
| 30 | 50/26°F | 68°F (1956) | 0°F (1975, 2006) | 6.0 in (1986) |
How cold do the snaps get?
The coldest readings in the November table date from 1919: -12°F on both November 27 and 28. The same year holds the record lows on the 26th (-1°F) and the 29th (1°F), so 1919 owns four record lows in a row, November 26 through 29.
Two more recent cold records stand out: -11°F on November 13, 2014, and -8°F on November 25, 1993. November 22 holds -7°F from 1929.
November 13 shows the whole range of the month on one date. Its record high is 74°F (1999 and 2025) and its record low is -11°F (2014), a spread of 85 degrees. November 2014 covered most of that spread by itself: after the -11°F on the 13th and -1°F on the 16th, it set a 70°F record high on November 28.
Monthly lows swing too, though less than the highs. November 2022 averaged a 23.6°F low, 5.08°F below the 28.68°F normal, and it set a 5°F record low on November 19. A year earlier, November 2021 averaged 33.4°F, 4.72°F above normal. That puts 9.8°F between two consecutive Novembers' mean lows.
How much snow falls, and when does the first one come?
The 1991–2020 mean November snowfall at NIST is 12.69 inches. That is more than December's 12.33 inches and nearly twice October's 6.95, out of an annual mean of 89.71 inches. The other months are covered in Boulder snow by month.
November totals were 29.5 inches in 2019, 7.5 in 2020, 0.7 in 2021, 24.6 in 2022, 7.3 in 2023, 20.2 in 2024 and 0.3 in 2025. Three of the seven were well above the mean and four were well below it. None landed within 5 inches of it.
Most of a big November can arrive in one day. The largest single-day total in the table is 22.0 inches, on November 20, 1979. The 20.7 inches on November 26, 2019 made up about 70 percent of that month's 29.5. Ten November dates hold a single-day record of 10 inches or more.
The first measurable snow means more than a trace at the official station. It arrives on October 17 on average, with a median of October 20. The high decile is November 9, so only one season in ten sees its first measurable snow later than that. Recent first snows came on November 17 in 2021, October 27 in 2022, October 28 in 2023, November 4 in 2024 and November 29 in 2025. Both 2021 and 2025 came later than the high decile. Both years recorded 0.0 inches in October; November added 0.7 inches in 2021 and 0.3 in 2025.
Chinook winds and November gusts
November gusts in or very near Boulder have topped 100 mph. These five November events come from NOAA's list of Boulder wind events, which records bigger November gusts too; three of the five came with Chinook winds:
- November 30 to December 2, 1975: Chinook gusts over 100 mph all along the foothills.
- November 15, 1986: 81 mph at Table Mesa, Chinook winds.
- November 18, 1999: 81 mph at NCAR, with strong winds over a large region.
- November 25, 1999: 77 mph at NCAR, Chinook winds.
- November 14, 2005: 91 mph at the Sugarloaf RAWS station, from locally strong winds.
Two of these came in 1999, a week apart.
Thanksgiving week 2026: what the record says about travel days
Thanksgiving Day 2026 is Thursday, November 26. Normal highs from November 22 to 28 run from 48°F to 53°F, and normal lows from 24°F to 29°F. November 27 has the lowest normal high of the month, 48°F.
The travel days carry wide records in both directions:
| Day (2026) | Normal high/low | Record high | Record low | Record daily snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Nov 24 | 53/27°F | 72°F (2017) | 3°F (1918) | 9.3 in (1992) |
| Wed Nov 25 | 53/29°F | 77°F (1990) | -8°F (1993) | 6.3 in (1952) |
| Thu Nov 26 | 51/27°F | 73°F (2017) | -1°F (1919) | 20.7 in (2019) |
| Fri Nov 27 | 48/25°F | 76°F (2017) | -12°F (1919) | 11.5 in (1983) |
| Sat Nov 28 | 49/24°F | 70°F (2014) | -12°F (1919) | 6.1 in (2004) |
| Sun Nov 29 | 49/24°F | 76°F (1899) | 1°F (1919) | 11.8 in (2006) |
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving has an 85-degree gap between its record high and record low. Thursday's 20.7-inch snow record is the second-largest single-day total of any November date.
1992 holds three record snow days around this stretch: 6.9 inches on November 21, 12.1 inches on the 23rd and 9.3 inches on the 24th. Those three days alone add up to 28.3 inches, more than twice the monthly mean.
Getting around Boulder when a November storm hits
The city sizes its snow and ice response by storm: small is under 3 inches, medium is 3 to 8 inches, and large is more than 8 inches. Boulder gets 25 to 46 snowfalls a year, and most bring less than 3 inches. On that scale, the 0.7 inches of November 2021 and the 0.3 inches of November 2025 add up to less than one small storm for the whole month. The 20.7 inches on November 26, 2019 was more than twice the threshold for a large storm.
The city and its partners plow 425 miles of city streets and 73 miles of multi-use paths. Priority 1 traveled lanes get service every two to four hours while snow is falling, whatever the storm size. Heavily used alleys and steep streets with a grade of 6.5 percent or more come second.
Like other Front Range communities, the city does not plow residential streets as a matter of course (why the bike paths come first). Packed snow can stay on off-route streets even after trucks have plowed them.
Sidewalks have to be cleared no later than 24 hours after snow stops falling, under Boulder Revised Code Section 8-2-13. If a storm ends on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the walk in front of the house is due by Thursday.
References
- NOAA PSL: Boulder daily climatology and records — NIST station since April 1990; daily normals, record highs, record lows and record daily snow for every November date
- NOAA PSL: Boulder monthly mean maximum temperature — 1991–2020 monthly mean highs and standard deviations; November mean highs 2019–2025
- NOAA PSL: Boulder monthly mean minimum temperature — 1991–2020 November mean low; November 2021 and 2022 mean lows
- NOAA PSL: Boulder monthly snowfall — 1991–2020 monthly snowfall means; October and November totals 2019–2025
- NOAA PSL: Boulder first measurable snow — definition, average, median and decile dates; first snow dates 2021–2025
- NOAA PSL: Boulder wind events — November peak gusts in 1975, 1986, 1999 and 2005
- OPM: Federal holidays — Thanksgiving Day 2026 date
- City of Boulder: Snow and ice response — storm sizes, snowfall count, plowed miles, priorities, residential streets, sidewalk rule
Posts in this series
- Shopping Twenty Ninth Street by Season: A Weather Guide
- Boulder's First and Last Freeze Dates: Planning Your Growing Season
- Boulder Snow by Month: Averages, Records and Upslope Storms
- Boulder Weather in October: Temperatures, First Snow Odds, and What to Pack
- Boulder November Weather: Warm Spells, Cold Snaps and Thanksgiving