November is starting out warm and dry for Illinois. The statewide average temperature is 6.1 degrees above average, while statewide precipitation is at 0.8 inches (75% of average).
The map below shows that precipitation is fairly widespread across the state. Meanwhile, lower precipitation totals prevailed in states to the west. Wetter conditions have occurred across southern Missouri and across the Ohio River Valley.
Here are how past Novembers have fared in terms of temperature and precipitation. No trends in precipitation; however, the 1980s and 1990s were wetter. There is a slight tendency towards warmer Novembers in the last 35 years. However, 2014 proved to be the exception with the 4th coldest November on record.
Your comment reminded me of when I lived in Urbana in the early 90s. November was so depressive with the lack of sunshine! One of those years it was dreary and cold, so doubly bad! So different in Carbondale, where I live now! We have dreary days, sometimes 3-5 in a row, but not for weeks on end! Do you have maps of sunshine hours? I’d be curious to see the spread for November.
You are correct, we tend to have less sunshine in the north vs. the south. Low pressure systems tend to track over the Great Lakes during the November, producing widespread cloudiness. Unfortunately, I don’t have an online map.