April 2016 Observations and Discussion

[gosaints]

Geos---Have you ever seen three days like this? Form heavy snow day one to near 70 day two and back to snow day 3?

Couple years ago had a foot.here in may. 75 two days.later

[hlcater]

It was 40 saturday with high winds, then 82 yesterday then 39 today... Weather has been extremely crazy across the entire midwest it sounds like.

[Geos]

Geos---Have you ever seen three days like this?  Form heavy snow day one to near 70 day two and back to snow day 3?

 

I've never seen a three day stretch this extreme. It's like Denver's climate.

[jaster220]

It's the main reason why I come out here to AZ and come back home sometime in May.

 

It's great that you have such an option, where do I sign up??

 

Geos---Have you ever seen three days like this?  Form heavy snow day one to near 70 day two and back to snow day 3?

 

Our last 2 storms in SMI saw 65*F temps sandwiched between 6-12" snow depths on the ground, not just +SN in the air. That's extreme by SMI standards! Happens west of the GL's (especially the plains) a lot, but not over here due to the lake's modifying influences. I can't remember a similar occurrence in my entire life, and I'm no longer able to call myself young

[james1976]

Sleeting really hard right now. Snow mixed in as well. It was upper 70s a couple days ago!

[jaster220]

Sleeting really hard right now. Snow mixed in as well. It was upper 70s a couple days ago!

 

Most extreme contrast of my life though, was in NMI, April of '91. On Saturday I was (pedal) biking in shorts 'cuz it was 85*F, the following Tuesday evening I rode my snowmobile around the yard on a solid 4" snow cover just to say "it was real"

[NEJeremy]

This weather pattern is obnoxious, if that's the right word for it. I know here in Omaha we haven't had the cold areas further east have, but this needs to end! I'm not sure if it's just my desire for spring to come and stay, which always happens this time of year usually after the very first 70 degree high, or what but I'm ready for June to be here already.

Between the big temperature swings from day to day, or due to strong winds every day, this is annoying, lol! We're in an active pattern, but it's been nothing but mainly dry frontal passages here followed by winds of 40+mph.

Today would probably be a decent severe weather chance if not for the fact we just had a strong frontal passage that wiped out all the moisture, so we're left with dewpoints in the 30s and 40s today when the next cold front comes through, so despite plenty of shear we're looking at a few high based storms with gusty winds and small hail possible. We're expecting a high of 70 today with southeast winds up to 40 mph, followed by 50s tomorrow with winds up to 50 mph out of the northwest. Winds actually turn back south tomorrow night, but yet another clipper moves through on Thursday turning the winds back northwest up to 50 mph.

Sorry to complain I think the wind is probably what's the worst of it out this way.

[Geos]

It felt like a late January morning earlier. Low of 19°!

Had ice on the pond until about 9 am. Any insects that hatched out early are likely gone after last night.

 

CAA is strong today. Almost noon at only 35°. Wondering if it will snow tonight...?

[james1976]

Its plain rain now but only mid 30s.

[OKwx2k4]

It's so crazy that you guys are talking about that stuff up there and I'm sweating my tail off down here.

[Geos]

It's so crazy that you guys are talking about that stuff up there and I'm sweating my tail off down here.

 

This might end up being the coldest sunny April day I've experienced. Will have to go back in records later and see if that's the case. Even inland it's in the 30s now.

[CentralNebWeather]

No problems here.  Just hazy and a smoky smell in the air from the wildfires south of us in Kansas and Oklahoma.  We never got any cold spells here just beautiful weather everyday except no rain.

[Andie]

I have to add to OKwx2k4's comments.  Texas is dealing with 80's right now.  Nights are cool, but clear.

A/C is on already and Mt. Cedar has bloomed its head off, if my allergies are any measure. >_

We're full blown spring here. Shorts and tank tops have been spotted.

[gabel23]

Wildfires being picked up on radar along the panhandle of oklahoma:

 

 http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=vnx&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=no

 

 

 

Fire Warning

OKC059-153-051930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FIRE WARNING
WOODWARD COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
NORMAN OK 137 PM CDT TUE APR 5 2016

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS BEING TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF
WOODWARD COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

A WILDFIRE WAS BURNING OUT OF CONTROL APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES EAST OF
FORT SUPPLY BURNING QUICKLY TOWARD THE NORTHEAST.

BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS IN THE AREA FROM COUNTY ROAD NORTH SOUTH
207 AND HIGHWAY 50 AND FROM EAST WEST COUNTY ROAD 21 AND EAST WEST
COUNTY ROAD 32 SHOULD EVACUATE TO THE WEST. TRAVEL WEST TO HIGHWAY
34 THEN SOUTH INTO WOODWARD.

A SHELTER HAS BEEN SET UP AT THE PIONEER ROOM AT 1212 9TH STREET IN
WOODWARD BY THE RED CROSS.

[Geos]

Looks like 37° will do it for this afternoon. 

Mixed precip is working in from the west.

[CentralNebWeather]

 

 

Sure don't like seeing these drought numbers just south of me already.  Even though Nebraska is not in it, I can promise you it is very dry around here, blowing dust last night as storms came through with only sprinkles as eastern Nebraska has gotten some rains recently.  I even turned my sprinklers on yesterday since most neighbors have already run them.  Need a good rain.

[Hawkeye]

I picked up a real nice 1.13" of rain late last evening, more than expected.  There were a couple decent rumblers at the start, which really have me itching for bigger storms.

[gosaints]

Light at the end of the tunnel becoming apparent

[Hawkeye]

Light at the end of the tunnel becoming apparent

 

Today's euro has an omega block developing, with a trough over the west and a trough stuck over the northeast.  In between, the upper midwest is stuck in a period of cool, but gradually more pleasant weather.  There is no major return of warm 850 air, but the cold exits and we're under a sunny surface ridge.

[gosaints]

Today's euro has an omega block developing, with a trough over the west and a trough stuck over the northeast.  In between, the upper midwest is stuck in a period of cool, but gradually more pleasant weather.  There is no major return of warm 850 air, but the cold exits and we're under a sunny surface ridge.

As is modeled probably slightly above normal days slightly below nights.  GFS warmer

[OKwx2k4]

Pretty bad things happening out in NW Oklahoma with the fires right now. Had huge winds and even a dust storm up there today. I think things are worse than the drought monitor really shows but just an opinion.

[Geos]

1.10" of rain here total and a trace of sleet last night.

Cool, wet day in the 40s. 

 

Expecting snow showers by morning.

 

GFS showing a Clipper diving down into the lower Lakes on Friday.

 

 

[westMJim]

Getting a moderate snow shower now with a temp of 34°
And with the baseball season already started there is a chance that Friday could be the coldest opening day in Detroit.

 

http://www.mlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2016/04/frigid_tigers_home_opener_poss.html

 

and here in Grand Rapids out minor league team opens on Saturday and the high looks to be in the low to mid 30's the issue I have with that I I work for the local team and I sure do not like working in the cold.  

[OKwx2k4]

I have to add to OKwx2k4's comments. Texas is dealing with 80's right now. Nights are cool, but clear.

A/C is on already and Mt. Cedar has bloomed its head off, if my allergies are any measure. >_

We're full blown spring here. Shorts and tank tops have been spotted.

Accidentally fell a large dead tree last week onto a small cedar tree. Green cloud of death is an adequate description of what happened when all was said and done. Lol. I know how you feel.

[james1976]

Low 40s and 50mph wind tomorrow. Dang, where is spring??

[Tom]

Snowing again back home??? Man, I'd be depressed having to deal with that weather in April!

 

Sending you guys some warm weather thoughts. Hopefully by the 16th things will change for the better.

[Tom]

I'll send some more pics from our hikes in Sedona when I get to my computer. Pics aren't posting right from my phone.

[gosaints]

Snowing again back home??? Man, I'd be depressed having to deal with that weather in April!

 

Sending you guys some warm weather thoughts. Hopefully by the 16th things will change for the better.

Flip is coming.  probably be slow.  Models indicating we start to bust out of this crap starting next wednesday

[NEJeremy]

Pretty bad things happening out in NW Oklahoma with the fires right now. Had huge winds and even a dust storm up there today. I think things are worse than the drought monitor really shows but just an opinion.

This time of year, there isn't a lot of vegetation and especially crops, so you get any kind of a dry topsoil layer and it's pretty easy to get blowing dust especially with 30+mph winds. I'm sure it's dry but according to the maps it's not necessarily dry very deep into the ground.

[Geos]

I'll send some more pics from our hikes in Sedona when I get to my computer. Pics aren't posting right from my phone.

 

Picture looks warm!

 

Yep, snowing here right now. Greenish grass, few Daffodils, and Crocuses up but that's it so far. Well I did see some very small leaves on some Raspberry bushes, but they've halted their advance.

[Hawkeye]

Low 40s and 50mph wind tomorrow. Dang, where is spring??

 

It's coming.  Models are now pretty consistent in showing a much milder pattern setting up later next week.  The the farther west you live, the better.

[Geos]

This weekend looks like 30s, maybe 40 on Sunday.

 

12z GFS is cool through Day 7 here. Being on the east side of ridge in the spring isn't all that warm here lakeside. Next weekend looks great right now.

 

Next 96 hours.

 

[Jaycee]

The temperature differential of only a state is insane to me. Literally from Western Iowa through Nebraska, temperatures have been relatively warm. Even today, we're in the upper 50's and lower 60's, and that's the coldest it's been. I can't begin to fathom how crappy it is to live in the Upper-Midwest right now. When I came back from Minnesota a few weeks ago, I was almost pissed off by how big of a difference there was. I was freezing my nuts off in Minnesota for a week straight, and a short 6 hour drive later, it's 30 degrees warmer at home, and it seems to have been that way ever since. 

 

The big issue we have right now is the dryness, and the WIND. The wind is absolutely incredible here right now. I had to take a test in a lecture hall and it was actually difficult, because the wind was so friggin distracting. The other issue is it looks to stick around, as well as the dry weather. Man I've hated this year so far. It's been more depressing than Jeb Bush's campaign. Hopefully we all see some changes here soon, but if it was cloudy, and in the 30s with just hit and miss rain/snow showers, I would've lost my D**n mind by now. Feel for you guys over there, wow. What a crappy start to a normally awesome month of weather.

 

 

Also, in the great words of Drake, "Ahh man, Ahh man Ahh man. Not again":http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pngs/20160405/20160405_ne_none.pngh

[Geos]

That weather sounds nice NebraskaWx!

 

It's been windy here too, but a cold northerly wind most of the time. Hanging in the 30s today with passing snow showers. Feels like early winter or late February today.

.

4km NAM showing another impressive snow band in lower MI.

 

[OKwx2k4]

This time of year, there isn't a lot of vegetation and especially crops, so you get any kind of a dry topsoil layer and it's pretty easy to get blowing dust especially with 30+mph winds. I'm sure it's dry but according to the maps it's not necessarily dry very deep into the ground.

True. Definitely possible. Meant to check mesonet soil moisture up there but got distracted. May check them out later.

[Hawkeye]

It certainly isn't dry around here.  I've received regular small rains, plus a soaker a couple days ago, over the last four weeks... adding up to 4 inches during that time.  The lawns are quite green, but the recent cold has kept the growth to a minimum.

[OKwx2k4]

Almost all of Texas County (29% of normal saturation) and most of beaver County in the OK panhandle are very dry at all measured depths according to OK mesonet.

[westMJim]

Had a low of 26° here at my house with a lot of ice and frost on the cars left outside. It’s now cloudy 34° with snow off to the west that should move in later this AM. Grand Rapids is now -7.9° for the month and there has been at least a trace of snow reported every day this month so far and that should continue for the next 3 days. I am not sure but my guess is that this is the longest string of days to start April with snow on each of the first 7 days not to mention if we make it to the first 10 days.

[Geos]

Another snowy morning. 0.9" so far. 

[Tom]

Wow, 06z GFS and 00z EPS really pump a summer ridge into the central CONUS by the 15th and it moves up towards the Lakes.  Gosh, is that going to feel pretty D**n good for the boys near the Lakes!