This uncharacteristic November can certainly have a negative effect. The acclimation period for woody perennials like apple trees is best viewed as a long series of steps/plateaus that is always hampered by sudden or unusual shifts in local conditions. This is one of the reasons we are instructed to lay off pruning and fertilizing in the fall. I won't get into all the details, but some mentionables are sugar/soluble solid contents in cells, water evacuation into intercellular spaces, and nutrient reclamation from aborting leaves. This all and more needs to happen in a timely and unrushed fashion.
Something to think about, and I am assuming this has happened throughout the northeast to some degree, is a pretty mild and extended late summer/early fall. Here in northern Vermont, we had a lot that ripened nicely that has not done so in years, with our true first "crushing" freeze happening about 3 weeks later than last year.
Add to this any areas (like ours) that had trees carrying a heavy crop creating stress. The aforementioned mild early fall means a lot of folks saw fruit clinging and ripening later than in other years. These will absolutely be tough on a tree getting ready for winter. If you poke through historical data you will find a lot of the orchard collapses were less about severe cold and more about large late crops and frigid falls.
And maybe everything will be just fine. The annoying part is, in many cases, cold damage can take years to be really noticeable. Of course, there isn't a whole lot we can do about it. I won't get into the global weirding discussion, but anomolies like this always makes me think it is probably something stupid we all had a hand in.