Old Man Winter began to show his cold heart last month in Berks County as the temperatures slid and snow and ice began to show up in many spots.

Gone was the mild weather, picture-perfect sunny days often in the 60s and 70s that ran through October and the first third of November.

The temperature has not been as high as 60 degrees since Nov. 9 and a bone-chilling cold settled in the final handful of days to end the month, with the mercury not even finding 45 degrees.

Last month was the first November since 2019 to not warm to 70 degrees, before that, 2012, said Jeffrey R. Stoudt, Berks weather historian and retired meteorologist.

He added that even more unusual was the mildness of the month lowest of 28 degrees.

Novembers of 1998 and 1985 also had 28 as lowest. It was 57 years ago in 1968 that a November had a milder low temperature, which was 30. The mildest November low of 31 occurred in 1948, Stoudt said.

“So this November lacked both really warm and cold temperatures,” Stoudt said.

Moving on to precipitation, Stoudt added it was much less than average but still far above the 10 driest. Snow on Nov. 30 was sub-measurable officially for the Reading area but could have left a light coating at some places of northern Berks or high elevations, he said.

The dry conditions of the fall continued, as did the dry conditions of Novembers this decade.

Since Sept. 1, Reading Regional Airport has seen just 7.42 inches of precipitation. Normal is 11.58. The total for the year of 41.32 inches is near normal.

The county as a whole is at nearly 41 inches for the year, according to a division of the National Weather Service. And, that’s more than any other county in the eastern half of the state. Most are 11% to 25% below normal.

No Novembers have even reached the average precipitation for the month since 2018, when 8.18 inches of rainfall at the airport became the third-wettest November on record.

It would help propel 2018 to the wettest year in the Berks database, now in its 157th year, at 68.08 inches, eclipsing the previous wettest from 1889.

Midwinter conditions

The AccuWeather forecast for the next week has a midwinter look to it, with the chance of several ice days, meaning the temperature won’t get above freezing.

Such days are more common in January and February, especially a string of them such as are showing on the AccuWeather forecast from Dec. 8 through 10.

Once air that cold settles in, precipitation coming into the region would probably arrive at the ground as snow.

Berks November weather

Temperature: 45 degrees

Normal: 44.6 degrees

Precipitation: 1.85 inches

Normal: 3.02 inches

Records: None

Source: National Weather Service

Precipitation totals from the Berks Area Rainfall Networks (inches):

• Wernersville, 2.36

• Wyomissing Highlands, 2.34

• Cacoosing, 2.29

• Bernville, 2.23

• Oley, 2.23

• Henningsville, 2.21

• Lincoln Park, 2.21

• Bechtelsville NW, 2.20

• Mohrsville SW, 2.19

• Dryville, 2.18

• Mohrsville, 2.16

• Mohnton, 2.15

• Strausstown, 2.15

• Boyertown, 2.13

• Reading E, 2.13

• Shillington, 2.13

• West Reading, 2.13

• Shartlesville, 2.09

• Oley Furnace, 2.06

• Knauers, 2.09

• Lobachsville, 2.03

• Birdsboro, 2.02

• Cornwall Terrace, 2.01

• Reiffton, 2.01

• Hamburg, 2.00

• Elverson NE, 1.96

• Bechtelsville, 1.94

• Topton, 1.91

• Quaker Hill, 1.90

• Womelsdorf, 1.81

• New Morgan, 1.70

• Greenfields, 1.67

• Cumru Township building, 1.55

• Vinemont, 1.51

• Frystown, 1.43