Issued by NWS
000 CXUS53 KGRR 011100 CLMLAN CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS, MI 651 AM EDT FRI MAY 1 2009 ................................... ...THE LANSING MI CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2009... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1864 TO 2009 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 88 04/26/1915 LOW -6 04/04/1868 HIGHEST 82 04/24 MM MM 79 04/25 LOWEST 25 04/12 MM MM 22 04/02 AVG. MAXIMUM 56.8 56.6 0.2 61.8 AVG. MINIMUM 36.5 34.5 2.0 38.6 MEAN 46.7 45.5 1.2 50.2 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 MM MM 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 0 MM MM 0 DAYS MIN <= 32 12 MM MM 8 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 MM MM 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) TOTALS 6.49 3.09 3.40 2.16 DAILY AVG. 0.22 0.10 0.12 0.07 DAYS >= .01 15 MM MM 10 DAYS >= .10 10 MM MM 6 DAYS >= .50 5 MM MM 1 DAYS >= 1.00 2 MM MM 0 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.57 04/27 TO 04/28 SNOWFALL (INCHES) TOTALS 5.0 2.5 2.5 T SINCE 7/1 70.7 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 MM MM 0 DAYS >= 1.0 2 0.8 1.2 0 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 4 04/06 0 MM 24 HR TOTAL 3.5 04/06 TO 04/06 DEGREE_DAYS HEATING TOTAL 549 585 -36 440 SINCE 7/1 6656 6752 -96 6338 COOLING TOTAL 5 6 -1 1 SINCE 1/1 5 7 -2 1 ................................................................. WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.6 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 40/220 DATE 04/25 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 53/230 DATE 04/25 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 7 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 8 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 15 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 62 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 2 MIXED PRECIP 1 HEAVY RAIN 5 RAIN 10 LIGHT RAIN 14 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 3 LIGHT SNOW 4 SLEET 1 FOG 13 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0 HAZE 0 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && RECORD DATA 4/27/09 - NEW DAILY PRECIP RECORD OF 1.08 INCHES. OLD RECORD 0.96 INCHES IN 1943. APRIL 2009 IS THE WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD. && SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN EXPERIENCED A WET APRIL. THE THREE OFFICIAL OBSERVATION SITES AT GRAND RAPIDS... MUSKEGON AND LANSING ALL REPORTED ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH. RAINFALL TOTALS FOR THE MONTH AVERAGED APPROXIMATELY ONE TO THREE INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE COMBINATION OF ALL THE RAIN AND SATURATED GROUND RESULTED IN FLOODING DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH WHEN NUMEROUS FLOOD WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES WERE ISSUED. THE MONTH STARTED OFF WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. HOWEVER A VERY COOL AIRMASS MOVED IN ON THE FOURTH AND FIFTH. TEMPERATURES CONTINUED TO AVERAGE BELOW NORMAL THROUGH THE 2ND WEEK OF APRIL. ONE OF THE COLDEST DAYS OF THE MONTH WAS THE 7TH... WHEN TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOUT TEN DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. A STRONG LATE SEASON WINTER STORM BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT SNOW TO FAR SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN ON THE FIFTH AND SIXTH. THE HEAVIEST SNOW FELL FROM JUST SOUTHEAST OF KALAMAZOO (NEAR VICKSBURG) EAST NORTHEAST TO BATTLE CREEK... MARSHALL... EATON RAPIDS AND JACKSON. APPROXIMATELY FIVE TO SEVEN INCHES OF SNOW WAS REPORTED ACROSS THAT AREA. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS DIMINISHED QUICKLY JUST NORTH OF THAT AREA. IN FACT... NO SNOW WAS REPORTED IN GRAND RAPIDS. THE SNOW WAS HEAVY ENOUGH TO CREATE TREACHEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS FROM VICKSBURG EAST NORTHEAST TO EATON RAPIDS AND JACKSON. NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED ACROSS EATON... JACKSON AND INGHAM COUNTIES. ONE FATAL ACCIDENT WAS REPORTED IN EATON COUNTY DUE TO THE ROAD CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION... THE COMBINATION OF HEAVY WET SNOW AND INCREASING WIND SPEEDS RESULTED IN DOWNED TREES... BRANCHES AND POWER LINES FROM VICKSBURG EAST NORTHEAST TO JACKSON. A BRIEF MODERATING TREND OF TEMPERATURES OCCURRED FROM THE 15TH THROUGH THE 19TH... WHEN TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOUT FIVE TO TEN DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF PERIOD OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FROM THE 20TH THROUGH THE 23RD. A RAPID WARMUP OCCURRED ON THE 24TH AFTER A WARM FRONT MOVED NORTH OF OUR AREA. IN FACT TEMPERATURES ON THE 24TH AVERAGED FIFTEEN TO TWENTY FIVE DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. TEMPERATURES CONTINUED TO AVERAGE ABOVE NORMAL FROM THE 25TH THROUGH THE 28TH AND AGAIN ON THE 30TH. A WILDFIRE OCCURRED ON THURSDAY APRIL 16 IN NORTHERN KENT COUNTY IN NELSON TOWNSHIP BETWEEN SAND LAKE AND CEDAR SPRINGS... CONSUMING A HOUSE AND AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF VEHICLES. THE FIRE RESULTED FROM WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS DURING THE MIDDLE PORTION OF THE MONTH THAT RESULTED IN A VERY HIGH TO EXTREME FIRE DANGER. AREAS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN AND SOME STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED ON THE 25TH OUT AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. IN GRAND RAPIDS 1.40 INCHES OF RAIN WAS RECORDED ON THE 25TH... WHICH WAS A NEW RECORD FOR THE DATE. SOME LOCATIONS REPORTED THREE TO FOUR INCHES OF RAIN FROM THE 25TH THROUGH THE 26TH FROM ALLEGAN AND HOLLAND EAST TO COMSTOCK PARK AND ALMA. THIS RESULTED IN SOME FLOODING OF URBAN AREAS AS WELL AS STREAMS AND RIVERS. SEVERAL BOW ECHOES DEVELOPED ON THE 25TH CAUSING MANY REPORTS OF WIND DAMAGE. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTED THAT NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN IN THE TOWN OF ALBION. CALHOUN COUNTY OFFICIALS REPORTED THAT NUMEROUS TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN IN MARSHALL AND THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. A 61 MPH THUNDERSTORM WIND GUST WAS MEASURED BY ASOS WIND EQUIPMENT IN JACKSON AND A TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED THAT NUMEROUS TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN TWO MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF TOMPKINS IN JACKSON COUNTY. ADDITIONAL MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN FELL ON THE 27TH AND 28TH... EXACERBATING ONGOING RIVER FLOODING AND HYDROLOGICAL ISSUES DUE TO ANTECEDENT SATURATED GROUND CONDITIONS. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ALSO MOVED IN ON THE 30TH AS RIVER FLOODING ISSUES CONTINUED. $$ LAURENS MJK