Issued by NWS Grand Rapids, MI
000 CXUS53 KGRR 011122 CLMGRR CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS, MI 713 AM EDT THU MAY 1 2008 ................................... ...THE GRAND RAPIDS CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2008... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1892 TO 2008 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 90 04/29/1899 LOW 3 04/07/1982 HIGHEST 82 04/25 MM MM 82 04/22 LOWEST 22 04/02 MM MM 20 04/07 AVG. MAXIMUM 62.2 56.6 5.6 54.5 AVG. MINIMUM 38.8 36.1 2.7 35.7 MEAN 50.5 46.3 4.2 45.1 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 MM MM 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 0 MM MM 3 DAYS MIN <= 32 8 MM MM 11 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 MM MM 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) TOTALS 3.56 3.48 0.08 4.27 DAILY AVG. 0.12 0.12 0.00 0.14 DAYS >= .01 12 MM MM 13 DAYS >= .10 7 MM MM 8 DAYS >= .50 1 MM MM 3 DAYS >= 1.00 1 MM MM 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.61 04/10 TO 04/10 SNOWFALL (INCHES) TOTALS T 2.8 -2.8 6.7 SINCE 7/1 107.0 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 MM MM 0 DAYS >= 1.0 0 0.8 -0.8 1 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 0 MM 3 04/12 24 HR TOTAL T 04/13 TO 04/13 DEGREE_DAYS HEATING TOTAL 431 571 -140 589 SINCE 7/1 6068 6583 -515 6160 COOLING TOTAL 3 6 -3 1 SINCE 1/1 3 8 -5 6 ................................................................. WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.1 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 40/250 DATE 04/01 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 51/240 DATE 04/01 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) 67 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 8 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 12 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 10 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 61 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 6 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 4 RAIN 4 LIGHT RAIN 12 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0 LIGHT SNOW 2 SLEET 0 FOG 14 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0 HAZE 11 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && GRAND RAPIDS RECORDS... 04/10/08 RECORD DAILY RAINFALL 1.61 04/30/08 RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE TIED AT 26 FROM 1971. && APRIL 2008... APRIL OF 2008 WILL BE REMEMBERED IN SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN FOR LARGE TEMPERATURE SWINGS WITH ONLY A FEW SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS. PRECIPITATION WAS NEAR NORMAL OVERALL... BUT VARIED WIDELY ACROSS THE REGION. VALUES RANGED FROM AN INCH BELOW NORMAL NEAR JACKSON IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN TO TWO INCHES ABOVE NORMAL NEAR LUDINGTON IN WEST CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN. THE MEAN DAILY TEMPERATURES FOR APRIL RANGED FROM TWO TO FOUR DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE LARGEST DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL WERE OVER CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN FROM EATON COUNTY NORTH TO CLARE COUNTY. A SYSTEM WAS LEAVING THE AREA AS APRIL BEGAN... DEPOSITING MOSTLY TRACE AMOUNTS OF SNOW ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN ON THE 1ST. THE ONLY OTHER SNOW DURING THE MONTH HAPPENED ON THE 12TH INTO THE 13TH. ONLY A FEW FLURRIES WERE OBSERVED. FROM THE 1ST THROUGH THE 10TH OF APRIL... A SERIES OF SYSTEMS MOVED NEAR AND THROUGH THE REGION. TEMPERATURES WERE GENERALLY ABOVE NORMAL BY 5 TO 10 DEGREES. PRECIPITATION WAS ALSO ABOVE NORMAL IN THIS TIME PERIOD. ON THE 8TH... A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN EAST OF PLAINWELL IN ALLEGAN COUNTY. STRAIT LINE WINDS WERE BLAMED FOR ADDITIONAL DAMAGE IN THE AREA. ON THE 11TH... A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH THE AREA WITH HAIL THE RESULT. HAIL OF UP TO AN INCH AND THREE QUARTERS WAS REPORTED. THE ONLY OTHER SEVERE WEATHER IN APRIL WAS ON THE 25TH. HAIL UP TO AN INCH IN DIAMETER AND WINDS UP TO 60 MPH WERE REPORTED WITH A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. A SLOW MOVING UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM BROUGHT TEMPERATURES TO AROUND 5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL FROM THE 12TH THROUGH THE 15TH OF APRIL. BEHIND THIS SYSTEM... TEMPERATURES REBOUNDED TO AVERAGE 10 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AS HIGH PRESSURE DOMINATED. RAIN AGAIN ENTERED THE PICTURE ON THE 23RD AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE MOVED TOWARD THE AREA FROM THE MOUNTAIN WEST. RAIN FELL THROUGH THE 26TH AS THE TROUGH MOVED THROUGH. THE TEMPERATURES THEN FELL TO AROUND TEN DEGREES BELOW NORMAL THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH. ON THE 30TH... THE LOW TEMPERATURE IN GRAND RAPIDS TIED THE RECORD LOW FOR THE DATE AT 26 DEGREES. THE RECORD WAS SET IN 1971. $$ IOD GEO