English composer Arnold Bax captured the fury of a November storm in his orchestral tone poem, November Woods.
Bax acknowledged that the music reflected a period of personal emotional turmoil.
Musicologists suspect that his troubles involved a wife and a mistress. If so, the collision of warm and cold air masses seems a particularly apt metaphor for his personal life.
In Britain, November storms often develop when cold polar air encounters warmer air from the south. These contrasting air masses help fuel powerful Atlantic low-pressure systems, which are steered toward Britain by prevailing winds and the jet stream.
The resulting winds can howl through the woods, bending trees and stripping away the last autumn leaves.
Bax transformed that turbulence into music.
Similar atmospheric forces produce the legendary gales of November on our Big Lakes.
Here, cold Canadian air encounters warmer air farther south, creating conditions that can intensify powerful low-pressure systems.
The Great Lakes, still holding some of their summer warmth, can add to atmospheric instability. And across their vast stretches of open water, powerful winds can build towering, dangerous waves.
These storms have become part of Great Lakes history, folklore, and music.
But what about this November?
With El Niño influencing weather patterns across North America, will our November storms be unusually fierce? Or might the gales of November be surprisingly gentle?
El Niño can shift the odds of certain weather patterns but its influence is generally stronger in winter than in autumn.
Whatever November brings, we can be certain of one thing.
Somewhere, the atmosphere is composing its own November Woods.
