NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY

 

APRIL 2017

 

1-8:  Near- to above-normal temperatures covered the country, with the greatest warmth relative to normal occurred across the northern Plains and upper Midwest.  Weekly temperatures averaged as much as 10F above normal in Minnesota and the Dakotas.  Warmth covered the South during the first half of the week, followed by a surge of cooler air.  Later, warm conditions expanded across the nation’s northern tier and overspread the High Plains.  The week opened on April 2 with daily record highs of 92F in Florida locations such as Gainesville and Fort Myers.  Another daily-record high (94F) was set in Fort Myers on April 3.  Warmth extended westward into Texas, where Corpus Christi posted a daily-record high of 94F on the 3rd.  On April 4, warmth surged into the East, where Atlantic City, NJ, collected a daily-record high of 78F.  Impressive heat covered Florida’s peninsula on April 5, when daily-record highs soared to 96F in Orlando and 92°F in Melbourne.  For Orlando, it was the highest April temperature since April 23, 1968, when it was also 96F.  Farther north and west, increasing late-week warmth led to daily-record highs for April 8 in locations such as Lubbock, TX (93F), and Marquette, MI (66F).

 

9-15:  Periods of rain occurred in the Midwest.  There was a general northward shift in where the heaviest rain fell, with only light precipitation falling in much of the southern Plains.  Significant rain also fell across parts of the nation’s mid-section, especially from South Dakota to Texas.  Warm, mostly dry weather covered the Southwest and Southeast. In areas experiencing drought, including Florida’s peninsula, warm, dry conditions maintained heavy irrigation demands and resulted in an increase in wildfire activity.  Elsewhere, cool, showery weather occurred in northern California and the Northwest, where weekly temperatures averaged as much as 5F below normal.  In contrast, temperatures averaged at least 10F above normal in the central and eastern sections of the Midwest, as well as portions of neighboring regions.  Despite the overall warm regime, a push of cool air across the Plains on April 10-11 resulted in widespread freezes as far south as eastern Colorado and northern Kansas.  Early in the week, warmth in advance of a cold front spread from the Midwest into the Northeast.  In Michigan, daily record highs for April 9 rose to 77F in Alpena and Traverse City.  On April 10, record-setting Northeastern highs climbed to 82F in Newark, NJ, and Scranton, PA.  During a final day of Eastern warmth, on April 11, temperatures rose impressively to daily-record levels in locations such as Albany, NY; Concord, NH; and Baltimore, MD—all of which attained 87F.  Hartford, CT (88F on April 11), experienced its fourth-warmest day on record during the first half of April—tied with a few other dates—behind 93F on April 7, 2010; 90F on April 7, 1991; and 89F on April 8, 1991.  Later, another surge of warmth pushed eastward.  On April 13, daily-record highs included 88F in Birmingham, AL, and 8F in Sheridan, WY.  April 14 featured Southeastern daily-record highs of 89F in Nashville, TN, and Huntsville, AL.  Meanwhile on the High Plains, record setting highs for April 14 included 88F in Goodland, KS, and 87F in Pueblo, CO.  

 

16-22: Warm and notably drier weather prevailed across the lower Midwest.  The lower Southeast remained warm and unfavorably dry.  Weekly temperatures averaged as much as 10°F above normal from portions of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia northward into the Ohio Valley.  A brief, early-week surge of warmth pushed temperatures above the 80-degree mark as far north as New England.  On April 16, Portland, ME, posted a daily-record high of 86F.  By mid-week, warmth in advance of a storm system produced daily-record highs for April 19 in locations such as Borger, TX (93F), and St. Louis, MO (88F).  Subsequently, late week heat in the Southeast led to several daily-record highs, including 88°F (on April 20) in Birmingham, AL; 88F (on April 21) in Athens, GA; and 90F (on April 22) in Augusta, GA.  Meanwhile, hot weather also developed across southern California, where daily-record highs soared to 91F in Camarillo (on April 21) and Ramona (on April 22).  In stark contrast, cool air associated with a developing storm system resulted in maximum temperatures reaching just 50F on April 22 in Missouri locations such as Joplin and West Plains. Mostly dry weather and near to above-normal temperatures covered mainland Alaska, while occasional showers fell across the state’s southern tier.  Weekly temperatures averaged at least 10F above normal across much of western Alaska.  Early-season warmth also prevailed in southeastern Alaska, where Annette Island posted daily-record highs (64 and 69F, respectively) on April 17 and 22. 

 

23-30: Across Florida’s peninsula and southern Georgia, however warm, mostly dry weather resulted in further drought intensification.  Subsequently, several disturbances maintained showery weather across much of the country, with only the nation’s southern tier remaining mostly dry. Cool weather dominated areas from the Pacific Northwest to the Plains and upper Midwest, with weekly temperatures averaging at least 10°F below normal in much of North Dakota and northern Minnesota.  General warmth prevailed, however, in the Desert Southwest, the lower Rio Grande Valley, and the eastern U.S.  Temperatures averaged as much as 10°F above normal in the northern Mid-Atlantic States and southern New England. For much of the week, hot weather prevailed across the Deep South.  On April 26 in Brownsville, TX, the high temperature of 104F eclipsed the monthly record of 102F, set on April 27, 1984.  Two days later in Florida, on April 28, Fort Myers attained a monthly record-tying high of 96F.  And, on April 29, monthly record highs were broken in Florida locations such as Tampa and Sarasota-Bradenton—both 96F.  Late-week warmth also surged northward across the eastern U.S., where daily-record highs for April 29 included 91F in Washington, DC; Georgetown, DE; Nashville, TN; and Augusta, GA.  Farther west, however, daily-record lows of 29F were observed on April 27 in Kansas locations such as Concordia and Russell.  Other daily-record lows across the nation’s mid-section included 21F (on April 27) in Pierre, SD, and 30F (on April 28) in Dubuque, IA.  Cold air also settled across the West, resulting in daily-record lows in Winnemucca, NV (18F on April 29), and Grand Junction, CO (24F on April 28).

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com