NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

APRIL 2024

Mar. 31-Apr. 6: A sprawling, slow-moving storm system emerged from the West and crossed the central Plains before turning northeastward. Eventually, the low-pressure system drifted from near Lake Michigan to the northern Atlantic Coast. Weather hazards associated with the storm included an early-April severe weather outbreak in parts of the South, East, and lower Midwest; soaking rain from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic; and heavy snow in northern sections of New York and New England. The April 1-3 severe weather outbreak included several dozen tornadoes, according to preliminary reports, extending as far north as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Meanwhile, storm-total rainfall reached 2 to 4 inches or more in many locations from the middle Mississippi Valley to the middle Atlantic States, leading to pre-planting fieldwork delays and pockets of flooding.

Southwestern precipitation was generally heaviest early in the week, when daily-record snowfall totals for March 31 included 7.1 inches in Flagstaff, AZ, and 5.7 inches in Elko, NV. That capped a month in Flagstaff with snowfall totaling 30.2 inches (194 percent of normal), aided by amounts exceeding 6 inches on March 15, 24, and 31. Similarly, Elko’s March snowfall totaled 14.5 inches (264 percent of normal). Later in the week, additional snow blanketed the Great Basin, with April 4-6 totals in Nevada reaching 0.5 inch in Elko, 3.6 inches in Ely, and 10.1 inches in Winnemucca. In Arizona, Phoenix netted a daily-record rainfall (0.50 inch) for March 31, followed the next day by Douglas’ fourth-wettest April day on record (0.63 inch). Farther north, March 31 featured daily-record precipitation totals in Idaho locations such as Burley (1.19 inches), Pocatello (0.43 inch), and Idaho Falls (0.42 inch). As precipitation spread across the Plains on April 1, daily-record snowfall totals included 7.7 inches in Valentine, NE, and 4.3 inches in Pierre, SD. Farther east, heavy showers accompanied locally severe thunderstorms, with record setting rainfall totals for April 1 approaching the 2-inch mark in St. Louis, MO (1.96 inches), and Fort Wayne, IN (1.81 inches). Even heavier rain fell in some areas on April 2, when daily-record totals reached 2.68 inches in Pittsburgh, PA; 2.40 inches in Wheeling, WV; and 2.05 inches in Columbus, OH. On April 3, both Elkins, WV, and Marquette, MI, collected daily-record totals of 2.40 inches, with the latter location also receiving a daily-record snowfall (14.0 inches). Marquette’s April 3-4 snowfall totaled 16.0 inches. In northern New England, snowfall records for April 4 included 10.0 inches in Burlington, VT, and 9.0 inches in Bangor, ME. For Burlington, it was the fourth-snowiest April day on record, behind only 13.0 inches on April 9, 1974; 11.3 inches on April 17, 1983; and 14.3 inches on April 9, 2000. During the second half of the week, precipitation returned across the West, where daily-record precipitation totals for April 4 topped an inch in Stockton, CA (1.07 inches), and McCall, ID (1.05 inches). Elsewhere in Idaho, Boise measured precipitation totaling 1.09 and 1.05 inches, respectively, on April 4 and 5, with 2.1 inches snow falling on the latter date. By April 6, heavy precipitation across the northern Plains resulted in daily-record totals in East Rapid City, SD (1.60 inches), and Billings, MT (0.66 inch, including 4.3 inches of snow). On the same date in Texas, southwesterly to westerly wind gusts were clocked to 72 mph in Borger and 65 mph in Lubbock. A gust to 67 mph was recorded in Guymon, OK.

7-13: Soaking rain across much of the South, East, and lower Midwest.  Weekly rainfall totaled 4 to 8 inches or more from eastern Texas to the Mississippi Delta and 2 to 4 inches in much of the Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes region. Meaningful precipitation extended to other areas, including portions of the northern and southern Plains.  Precipitation bypassed the central Plains, leading to drought-related concerns in one of the nation’s key winter wheat-production areas. Late in the week, a storm system near the Pacific Coast drifted southward before turning inland across California.

As the week began, cool, showery, blustery conditions lingered across the north-central U.S. Rapid City, SD, reported consecutive daily-record precipitation totals (1.14 and 0.92 inch, respectively) on April 6 and 7. Soon, the focus for heavy rain shifted southward. By April 8, Shreveport, LA, collected a daily-record sum of 3.81 inches, the start of a 3-day period during which rainfall totaled 8.82 inches. On April 9, daily record totals topped the 3-inch mark in locations such as Jackson, MS (4.64 inches); Tupelo, MS (3.49 inches); and Shreveport (3.43 inches). From April 8-11, rainfall in Mississippi totaled 7.39 inches in Jackson, 7.24 inches in Tupelo, and 6.32 inches in Greenwood. In New Orleans, LA, where 6.24 inches fell on the 10th, it was the wettest April day since April 25, 2004, when 7.67 inches fell. Similar amounts fell farther east, April 10-11 totals reaching 7.11 inches in Tallahassee, FL, and 6.62 inches in Valdosta, GA. Meanwhile in Texas, Amarillo’s total of 2.18 inches on April 9 represented the wettest day in that location since August 10, 2017, when 2.41 inches fell. Windy weather accompanied and trailed the Southern rain, with the average wind speed of 16.9 mph on the 11th in Gainesville, FL, representing its second-windiest April day on record, behind only 17.3 mph on April 15, 2007. By April 11, wet weather spread across the eastern U.S., setting daily-record rainfall totals in Savannah, GA (3.40 inches); Charleston, WV (3.32 inches); and Pittsburgh, PA (2.77 inches). In the rain’s wake, lowland flooding lingered in several areas. On April 12, Village Creek near Kountze, TX, achieved its fifth-highest crest on record, 10.16 feet above flood stage, but 8.80 feet below the high-water mark established on August 30, 2017. At week’s end, precipitation returned across the Pacific Coast States; daily-record amounts in California for April 13 included 1.38 inches in Santa Maria and 0.86 inch in Stockton.

14-20: A slow-moving spring storm produced significant rain (locally 2 inches or more) in the north-central U.S., helping to replenish topsoil moisture in the wake of last summer’s drought.  Storm-related impacts extended to other areas, with locally severe thunderstorms developing across the Plains on April 15 before spreading into the Midwest over the ensuing 2 days. Some additional severe weather occurred on April 18, mainly in the middle Mississippi Valley. Although rain largely cleared the Atlantic Seaboard late in the week, some heavy showers lingered across the South. In fact, weekly rainfall totaled 2 inches or more in several locations from Texas to the Carolinas.

A late-week cold spell caused accumulating snow fell as far south as the central High Plains. In fact, snow in Goodland, KS, totaled 1.8 inches on April 19-20. During the same 2 days, Denver, CO, received snowfall totaling 6.3 inches. In southwestern Kansas, however, precipitation from March 1 – April 20 totaled just 0.27 inch (11 percent of normal) in Dodge City and 0.17 inch (8 percent) in Garden City. Earlier, precipitation had spread from the Northwest to the nation’s mid section. Daily-record totals for April 14 had included 0.67 inch in Montague, CA, and 0.65 inch in Klamath Falls, OR. On April 15, as showers arrived on the Plains, Rapid City, SD, collected a daily-record sum of 1.23 inches. Farther south, a thunderstorm wind gust to 75 mph was clocked in Ord, NE, on the 15th. The following day in Iowa, wind gusts reached 62 mph in Estherville and 61 mph in Lamoni. Elsewhere on April 16, daily-record totals topped an inch in many locations, including Watertown, SD (1.85 inches), Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN (1.33 inches), and Norfolk, NE (1.15 inches). As showers shifted eastward, Evansville, IN, collected a record-setting rainfall total (2.27 inches) for April 18. At week’s end, heavy rain developed in the south-central U.S., including parts of Texas, where daily record totals for April 20 reached 2.88 inches in College Station, 2.34 inches in Dallas-Ft. Worth, and 2.12 inches in Longview.

21-27: Following several days of mostly tranquil weather, back to-back storm systems emerged from the western U.S.  As the weather pattern began to change, separate areas of rain developed across the Pacific Northwest and mid-South, starting on April 25. That day also marked the start of a protracted spell of severe weather, beginning with several tornadoes—mainly in Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Subsequently, the severe weather outbreak peaked on April 26-27, with well over 100 tornadoes spotted—based on preliminary reports—across the Plains and western Corn Belt. Some of the thunderstorms also produced heavy rain and resulted in localized damage due to high winds and large hail. Elsewhere, periodic rain and snow showers dotted the West, while a long stretch of dry weather in much of the South. 

April 27 in multiple Oklahoma towns, including Sulphur (Murray County) and Holdenville (Hughes County). Early reports indicated five tornado-related fatalities—four in Oklahoma and one in Minden, IA. No measurable precipitation fell during the week in Dodge City, KS, leaving the March 1 – April 27 total at 0.27 inch (9 percent of normal). Additionally, Dodge City’s winds gusted to 50 mph or higher this month on April 6, 15, 16, 18, 22, and 23. Elsewhere in Kansas, however, Concordia, KS, netted a daily-record rainfall total of 2.50 inches on April 25. Totals also topped 2 inches on the 25th, setting daily records, in Springfield, MO (2.54 inches), and Russellville, AR (2.44 inches). Farther west, rain on April 25 resulted in daily-record totals in locations such as Astoria, OR (1.29 inches), and Hoquiam, WA (1.11 inches). Farther inland, record-setting amounts for April 26 in Nevada included 0.72 inch in Winnemucca, 0.31 inch in Eureka, and 0.24 inch in Las Vegas. Across the Plains and Midwest, daily record totals topped an inch on the 26th in Quincy, IL (1.66 inches); Vichy-Rolla, MO (1.60 inches); and Lincoln, NE (1.29 inches).  Those totals occurred the same day that dozens of tornadoes prowled the Plains and western Corn Belt. While storm surveys and damage documentation are still ongoing, several of the April 26 and 27 tornadoes reached at least EF-3 intensity, featuring estimated winds greater than 135 mph. A twister that struck on April 27 in parts of Marietta, Love County, OK, was rated an EF-4, with estimated winds above 165 mph, becoming the nation’s strongest twister since late-March 2023. Elsewhere, locally catastrophic damage was reported on April 26 in communities such as Elkhorn, NE, and Minden, IA.

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