MONTHLY WEATHER DATA AND OBS - LAVALE MD APRIL 2011 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 38 34 * T T Mostly cloudy, cold, few PM rain/snow showers 2 46 33 .20 T T Mostly cloudy, rain/snow squalls 3 52 38 .03 T Partly cloudy, then PM t-storms in area 4 82 38 .19 T Cold AM, very warm PM, partly cloudy, PM t-storms 5 62 35 .07 Brief overnight showers, mostly cloudy, windy 6 62 31 Partly sunny 7 70 37 Partly to mostly cloudy 8 51 45 .59 F Periods of rain 9 48 39 T F Mostly cloudy, cool, brief PM shower 10 70 44 Mostly cloudy AM, PM clearing 11 82 49 * Increasing clouds, warm. Rain see tomorrow. 12 62 48 .95 F Steady rain event, all attributed to today 13 48 46 T F Rain ended around midnight, overcast, cool 14 70 35 Partly cloudy 15 68 42 Partly sunny 16 52 46 1.19 F,T Rain, heavy at times, windy PM with thunder 17 60 42 .05 F Windy, variably cloudy, brief PM showers 18 68 43 T Partly to mostly cloudy 19 56 47 1.14 F,T Rain, heavy during PM with imbedded thunder 20 72 48 F AM fog, partial clearing, strong SW wind 21 60 44 Partly sunny, more sun PM, W breezes 22 48* 40 .19 F Becoming cloudy with a cold rain 23 74 44 .54 F,T AM rain, partial clearing, PM t-storm 24 76 56 .04 Variable clouds, brief PM showers 25 82 57 Partly cloudy, warm and humid 26 83 57 .41 F,T Partly cloudy, warm, PM t-storms, tornado warning 27 84 57 T F Foggy AM, then very warm, increasing clouds 28 68 58 .48 T Overnight severe t-storms, tornado warning 29 62 53 T Mostly cloudy, cool, patchy drizzle, breezy 30 70 44 Mostly sunny, cool AM, mild PM AVG/SUM 64.2 44.3 6.07 T T EXT 84 31 1.19 T T Date 27 6 16 2* 2* * on dates = Also occurred on earlier dates * on temperature = Record high or low (since 1948) * on precipitation (and snow) = Record high since 1948 * only on precip = observed that day but not measured until next day Miscellaneous Stats Mean Monthly Temperature: 54.3 F (+2.5°F) Year precipitation to date: 16.46" (+3.36") Monthly precipitation departure: +2.39" (normal 3.68") Season snowfall to date: 26.2" (-14.6") Number of days with: Fog 12 Thunder 7 NOTES/SIGNIFICANT EVENTS 1: High of only 38, 3 days later it was 82, after a low of 38 that morning (4th). Light to moderate snow at higher elevations on the 1st-2nd, only a trace here. Mild evening t-storms on the 4th. 6: 1st and only sub-freezing low of the month low 31 F. 8-9: Cooler with periods of rain on the 8th 11: Another big temperature rebound with a high of 82 F. Rain very late. 12: Cooler with steady rains all day. High of only 48 on the 13th. 16: Windy with periods of rain and PM thunderstorms 1.19" of rain fell today. 19: Another cool day wth periods of rain and PM thunderstorms, another 1.14" fell. 22: Record low max high only 48 F with intermittent rain. Some snowflakes fell on some nearby ridges. 23: Much warmer with a PM t-storm 24-25: Warm with increasing humidity 26: Very warm and humid high 83 F. A line of severe thunderstorms to the west & north prompted a tornado warning but weakened as it approached. There was a report of possible damage due to a weak tornado or high wind just NE of here late this evening. Some areas especially to the north got hammered. 27: Very warm and humid high 84 F. 28: A fast-moving line of severe storms passed through around 1am and once again prompted a tornado warning for this station, through no damaging winds, hail or tornadoes were observed at this location. Areas just east of the mountains were hammered by severe storms, tornadoes and flash floods. This was the same system that devastated much of the south with over 300 tornadoes and the most tornado deaths since 1925, a very tragic and violent outbreak of storms. 30: A rare sunny day with a cool start and a mild pleasant afternoon. MONTHLY SUMMARY April 2011 was wet and mild. Temperatures were 2.5 degrees above normal, owing almost entirely to well above normal overnight lows. The past 4 Aprils have been quite warm and have not produced any sub-30 readings, and only a handful or sub- freezing lows, which is very unusual. There was a notable lack of extremes in either direction. Diurnal ranges were quite variable, but were on the low side due to the contant parade of weather systems that kept clouds around much of the time. In general, the month predictably warmed as it progressed. April was a record-shattering severe weather month, particularly in the south and east. It was an off-the-charts tornado month for the US, possibly over 800 total, with several massive tornado outbreaks that included "Super Outbreak 2" Apr 27-28. April's tornadoes left many areas resembling the Gulf Coast after Katrina in 2005. 7 tornadoes touched down in the state of MD this month, and some parts of the state, especially the north-central portion to our east, had record rainfall. We seemed to get lesser amounts of rain than many nearby stations, which had 1 to 2 inches more rain than us. While April 2011 ranked in the top 10 wettest, it just missed the top 5, as did March. March and April combined were the wettest since 1993, which holds the record for the wettest spring and season on record, and a wet May, statistically the wettest month of the year (4.31"), could put the 1993 record of 18.69" in jeopardy. Frostburg recorded its 2nd wettest April on record with 8.04". The record was 9.28" in 1964, when La Vale's record of 7.92" was set. Additional Notes/Records: 22: Record low max 48 F, eclipses the record of 49 F set recently in 2009.