November 2024 was an unseasonably warm month for Jacksonville, with temperatures averaging 5.5°F above normal—part of a global phenomenon that ranked the planet’s second-warmest November on record.
For nearly the first two weeks of the month, the city missed out on typical 70-degree days; facing double-digit departures from normals in the 80s.
This local warmth mirrors a broader global pattern.
According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, November 2024 was Earth’s second-warmest November on record, surpassed only by November 2023 in data dating back to 1850.
NASA and the European Copernicus Climate Change Service reached similar conclusions. NASA reported that global temperatures for the month were 1.54°C (2.77°F) above preindustrial levels, using the 1880-1899 period as a baseline.
The exceptional warmth wasn’t isolated to a single region. NOAA noted that a staggering 10.6% of the planet’s surface experienced record-breaking heat in November—a record for the month.
Much of the southeast was in first place or came close to it for November’s record heat. Jacksonville placed its sixth warmest on record but Mayport, with a shorter historical record period ranked its hottest average November temperature.
Then came the cold
Despite the record-breaking warmth in November, Jacksonville has experienced its 10th coldest start to December on record. Although winter hasn’t officially begun, the temperatures have felt more like mid-January.
This cold spell is expected to be short-lived, with the remainder of the month likely to have temperatures in the 70s, balancing out the unusually cold start.
The clearest indication of local warming trends comes from comparing record high and low temperatures. Over the past 10 years, there have been more than twice as many record highs as record lows, with 31 record-breaking high temperatures compared to just 12 record-breaking lows.
As 2024 comes to a close, the unusually warm fall experienced in Jacksonville reflects a global trend: November 2024 was the second-warmest November on record, and 2024 is on track to surpass 2023 as the planet’s warmest year ever recorded.