April 2015 summary & discussion

[FVWinters]

April was a slightly cooler and much dryer than average month.
From Corvallis, Oregon:
Average Max 61.6 (16.4) or 1.0 (0.6) above standard
Average Min 39.9 (4.4) or 2.2 (1.3) below standard
This works out to an average of 50.5 or roughly 0.6 (0.35) below the most recent 30 year mean. This makes April the first month in the last 14 that was cooler than average. For those of you who care, the 50.5 the official NWS station reported for the month is about 0.2 of a Fahrenheit degree above the long term mean going from 1889 through 2010. Food for thought for any who have an appetite for such things.

Rainfall was pretty minimal. We, in western Oregon start drying out in April or May anyway but this month logged 1.79 inches (45.5 mm) as opposed to a 30 average of 3.10 (or 78.7 mm). Since we have had a fairly wet year up to now, I'm not too worried but California is not that far off and whatever long term weather cycle that is giving the Golden State its dose of grief is likely to come our way. In any case what precipitation as did fall, fell as snow at elevations above 4 to 5 thousand feet. In fact, some stations reported more snow this month than in the previous three combined. Not that there was that much that fell even in April.

So what does May look like? The Climate Prediction Center has us down for a warmer and dryer than average month. I think we'll hit pretty close to average for temperature but the tendency for the West Coast to dry out sooner and more completely than it customarily has in the past will stick with us. Long term average rainfall is 1.99 inches (or 49.5mm) and the most recent 30 year mean is 2.35 inches (59.7 mm). I think we'll come close to the 1889 thru 2010 average; perhaps even beat it by a smidge, but it is unlikely we'll reach the wetter 30 year mean.

[flamingGalah!]

April in Malta was drier & a little warmer than average...

Stats below from my PWS in St Paul's Bay, against averages from Balzan:

Average High: 21.1C (+1.1C)
Average Low: 15.1C (+1.8C)
Overall Mean: 18.1C (+1.4C)

Highest Max: 24.3C
Lowest Min: 10.4C
Lowest Max: 17.2C
Highest Min: 17.6C

Rainfall: 1.6mm (6%)
Days with Rainfall: 6
Days of > 1.0mm: 0
Days of Trace: 2

Days of Thunder: 1

Sunshine: 285 Hrs* (115%)

*Sunshine figures from Luqa

Stats in Wiki box, alongside those from the Malta Met Office site at Luqa Airport for comparison:

[tom77falcons]

Originally Posted by tommyFL

Warmest April on record. Noticed this was the first year the March and April average lows were warmer than the April and May normal lows, respectively.

Port Salerno 5W

Average high: 87.2F (30.7C)
Average low: 67.7F (19.8C) - record high
Record high: 94F (34C) - ties record high from 2013
Record low: 55F (13C) - ties record high from 2006
Lowest high: 80F (27C)
Highest low: 73F (23C)
90F+ days: 7
Precipitation: 4.23 inches (107 mm)
Rain days: 12 - record high
Wettest day: 1.09 inches (28 mm) on the 28th
Temp anomaly: +5.0F (2.8C)

Even down into FL you can see how extreme North America is compared to everywhere else. Notice how far you went below your avg low for your lowest temp this winter. Then look at Europe.

[tom77falcons]

Philadelphia, PA

April 2015

Avg high 65.3F (18.5C)
Avg low 45.4F (7.4C)

Highest temp 81F (27.2C)
Lowest temp 34F (1.1C)

Precip - 3.6in

Monthly mean temp 55.4F (13C)
1.4F (.8C) above average

2 days of thunder

[irlinit]

Warmer, drier and sunnier than average.. but the cool last week of the month brought down the averages a bit.

Highest max: 24.6C (15th)
Lowest max: 10C (4th)
Lowest min: 1.8C (6th)
Highest min: 11.1C (25th)

http://i.imgur.com/iZKpAYO.png

[Jakobsli]

The data for Norway as a whole in April is out.

The country was 1.8C warmer than the normal (1961-90). Relative warmest in the far north (Finnmark), with up to 4C above normal. Relativ coldest on the SW coast, which was close to normal.

Absolute high was 24.8C recorded as early as April 20th. Absolute low was -23.2C at Sandhaug (1250 m asl).

Precipitation was 130 % of normal for the country.
Wettest station was Lurøy with 294.2 mm.
Driest station was Tønsberg with 3.2 mm.

Source - met.no: http://met.no/Aldri+f%C3%B8r+har+det...b7C_xdrM0y.ips