00:24 Mexico Earthquake Makes Waves in Pool A powerful earthquake in southern Mexico Tuesday turned a swimming pool into a wave pool in Mexico City.

At a Glance The Pacific Northwest has a wet reputation, but that hasn't been the case lately.

Seattle and Portland were among the cities that had a top-five driest November.

Recently, the heavier rain and mountain snow has fallen in California and the Southwest.

Cascades snowpack is running 10 to 40 percent of average for early December.

The pattern should trend a bit wetter into mid-December. The Pacific Northwest just had one of its driest Novembers on record, in what is usually one of the wettest months of the year, and that has taken a toll on early-season snowpack in the Cascades.

When the Pacific Northwest is mentioned, wet weather might come to mind. We've written about Seattle's rainy reputation , and that it may not be entirely fair.

But one aspect that typically is dependable is November rain. In Seattle and Portland, November is the wettest month of the year, on average.

This November, that rule of thumb failed.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/4dec-30day-precip-anomalies-west-NWS.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/4dec-30day-precip-anomalies-west-NWS.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/4dec-30day-precip-anomalies-west-NWS.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > Precipitation departures from average in the 30-day period ending Dec. 4, 2019. Areas with far-below-average precipitation in the Northwest are shown by the dark red and brown contours. Areas wetter than average in parts of California, the Desert Southwest and Northern Plains are shown by the green, blue and purple contours. (NOAA/NWS)

Nearly every major reporting station in Washington and western Oregon had one of their five driest Novembers.

Oregon's capital city, Salem , couldn't muster an inch of rain for the month, tallying a paltry 0.8 inches. Only two Novembers during the Great Depression - 1929 and 1936 - were drier.

Seattle had its driest November since 1976, picking up only 1.71 inches of rain, just one-quarter of its average. Measurable rain (at least 0.01 inches) fell only half of the average 18 days in Seattle during the month.

In November, the jet stream often diverted north of the Pacific Northwest, sparing it the typical soaking November storms.

Since Thanksgiving week, however, the Pacific storm track returned to the West Coast. But most of its moisture was directed farther south, wringing out heavier rain and mountain snow in California and the Desert Southwest.

This has also taken its toll on snowpack.

According to the USDA's National Water and Climate Center, snowpack in the Washington and Oregon Cascades, as estimated by the water content in the snow, was only 8 to 39% of average for early December.

One of the nation's snowiest locations, Paradise Ranger Station in Washington's Mount Rainier National Park, picked up only 8 inches of snow in November, a dusting compared to their November average of over 9 feet of snow (110.9 inches).

The park webcam , usually a fascinating sight featuring feet of snow this time of year, instead looked pedestrian Thursday morning. The reported snow depth of 12 inches was nearly 3.5 feet less than average.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/paradise-WA-cam-5dec19.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/paradise-WA-cam-5dec19.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/paradise-WA-cam-5dec19.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > The Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, on Dec. 5, 2019, illustrating the meager snow on the ground compared to what is typical for early December. (National Park Service)

According to onthesnow.com , just two Washington ski areas have opened, on weekends only – Crystal Mountain and Mission Ridge.

In Oregon , Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline Lodge are open, but only one lift is open at Timberline, and two at Mt. Bachelor.

Not a Drought Concern Yet

A Northwestern drought isn't too much of a concern this early in the season, despite the weird November.

While not a soaking weather pattern, NOAA's 8- to 14-day precipitation outlook calls for a chance of wetter-than-average conditions in parts of the Northwest through the week before Christmas.

December and January are typically two of the three wettest months in Seattle, ranking behind November. February and March both average over 3 inches of precipitation as well.

If you're antsy to hit the slopes, there's likely a lot of snow still to fall. On average, more than 500 inches of snow falls between now and spring at Mount Rainier's Paradise Ranger Station.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.