MONTHLY WEATHER DATA AND OBS - LAVALE MD APRIL 2009 OBSERVER SCOTT LOHR DATA COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY NATE MULLINS Special Observations: F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail, S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds Observation time for this station is midnight. Temperature, °F Precipitation, In. Liquid Solid 7am DAY 24-hour Rain Snow/ Snow Special WEATHER Date Max Min Equiv Ice Depth Obs. SUMMARY 1 50 46 .14 Cloudy, occasional showers 2 61 41 F Partly cloudy 3 56 54 .80 Rain heavy at times, strong PM West winds to 45 mph 4 58 38 Mostly sunny 5 69 38 Mostly sunny, mild 6 52 36 .06 Overnight shower(s), variably cloudy, falling temps 7 39 32 T 0.1 Mostly cloudy, intermittent snow showers, windy, cold 8 52 35 T T T Flurries ended, mostly cloudy, partial clearing 9 61 31 Partly to mostly sunny, breezy, milder 10 61 42 Mostly cloudy, light wind from ESE 11 52 44 .57 Overnight rain, clearing to partly cloudy, breezy 12 54 32 Mostly sunny, gusty N winds 13 52 32 .07 Cloudy, occasional showers 14 49 42 .16 Cloudy, occasional of rain and showers 15 49 42 .45 F Cloudy, periods of rain and showers, light NE winds 16 61 34 F AM fog then clearing, milder 17 73 36 Mostly sunny, mild 18 78 40 Mostly sunny, warm 19 66 47 T Mostly cloudy, cooler, sprinkles late 20 47 42 1.21 Steady rain overnight and through the morning 21 47 42 .29 F Rain/showers/cool 22 49 37 .18 Variably cloudy, intermittent showers, cool, breezy 23 60 37 Mostly sunny, gusty N winds (30 mph) 24 84 38 .03 T Cool AM, very warm PM, thunderstorm NE of station 25 93 50 Mostly sunny, hot, record high for April tied 26 93 57 Mostly sunny, hot, breezy SW winds 27 96 56 Mostly sunny, windy, very hot, RECORD HIGH for April! 28 92 62 Mostly sunny, windy, hot, increasing clouds late 29 62 54 .37 F Overnight rain, mostly cloudy, MUCH cooler 30 62 49 .03 F Mostly cloudy w/ a few brief showers AVG/SUM 62.6 42.2 4.36 0.1 T EXT 96 31 1.21 0.1 T Date 27 9 20 7 8 *=Also occurred on earlier dates Miscellaneous Stats Mean Monthly Temperature: 52.4 F Year precipitation to date: 9.80" Season snowfall to date: 20.9" Number of days with: Fog 6 Thunder 1 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS 3: Strong cold front passage, moderate to heavy rain in the area, very windy this evening, temperatures fell overnight 5: Mild high 69 F. 7: Very chilly & blustery high only 39 F with snow showers, strong winds, snow melted as it fell, dusting by late evening as temps fell to freezing 9-10: Much milder again 61 F highs both days 11: Overnight steady rain ended by 9am 13-15: Showers from slow-moving Low, .68" storm total HEAVY RAIN 20: Steady rain overnight and through the morning and midday - heavy at times 1.21" total. However, nowhere near the record of 1.84" which was set just last year (2008). Cool high only 47 F. 21-22: More rain and showers both days, cool, 22nd was the 3rd consecutive day in the 40s. This is quite unusual for April EXTREME RECORD HEAT WAVE - ALL-TIME RECORD HIGHS FOR APRIL 24: Very warm high 84 F 25: VERY HOT high 93 F. This breaks my 18-year record for April of 90 set on Apr. 17, 2002 and also ties the ALL-TIME record high for April, which was set previously on Apr. 18, 1976. 26: VERY HOT again high 93 F again tying the all-time record high for April. 27: SIZZLING HOT high 96 F. This now breaks the all-time record high temperature ever for April. Just to our south Petersburg WV recorded an incredible 103!!! This kind of intense heat so early in the season is absolutely unheard of and nothing has even come close to it! 28: VERY HOT yet again high 92 F. 4 consecutive days in the 90s now and this is the first time this has EVER happened in April. Petersburg WV hit 100 or higher 3 days in a row. Unreal!!! Ironically this record heat occurred on the same dates as a record late-season snow storm. On Apr. 27-28, 1928, a very heavy and very late season winter storm hammered western Maryland with a foot of snow in Cumberland and over two feet in Frostburg! High temperatures were in the 30s! This was almost as unheard of as the record heat here in April 2009. Precipitation equivalents from that storm were 3-4 inches and temperatures quickly jumped into the 70s following the storm, causing a rapid meltdown and heavy flooding on the Potomac and throughout the entire area. Wow! 29: Overnight rain, MUCH cooler today high only 62 F. High on the 30th was also only 62. MONTHLY SUMMARY This April will be well remembered for its wild temperature swings and record heat at the end of the month. We had a taste of winter early in the month, with a high of only 39 on the 7th, the coldest max in April in many years and snow showers as well. However we also had a taste of summer later in the month, when the high temperatures reached the 90s on 4 consecutive days for the first time ever in April. The high of 93 F on the 25th and 26th tied the all-time April record set on Apr. 18, 1976. Then on the 27th, a sizzling high of 96 broke the record. It was also a hot 92 on the 28th. This kind of heat wave is almost unheard of for so early in the season and the high of 96 on the 27th is hotter than the hottest temperatures for some entire years! Nothing has ever come close to this. Even the higher mountain locations were in the mid to upper 80s. What was even more remarkable is that this heat wave immediately followed a cool streak where temperatures were only in the 40s for 3 consecutive days (unusual for late April) a few days prior! Precipitation was above normal for the first time since December 2008 (hence the first time in 2009). It fell relatively frequently and was quite evenly distributed through the month. This quickly greened up the grass and was a welcome change after a very dry February and March, which had a combined 2.66" total for both months that pushed us into about a 4-inch deficit for the year. The more active storm pattern began in late March and brought rain every few days. The month's only snow flakes fell on the 7th and 8th, with very light (0.1") of accumulation. Nearby mountains had a few inches. Snow also fell in the mountains on the 22nd-23rd. None fell here. Fog was observed on 6 days, while thunder occurred only once (24th). Additional notes/records 3: Record daily raifall of 0.80 inches. Also a record daily high min of 54 F 21: Record low max 47 F 22: Record low max 49 F 25: Record high 93 F 26: Record high 93 F 27: Record high 96 F set new all-time record high temperature for the entire month of April! 28: Record high 92 F