April Weather Trivia Statements
April 1
April 1, 2003: MOTHER NATURE PLAYED AN APRIL FOOLS' TRICK ON THE RESIDENTS IN NORTHERN ILLIOIS. PEOPLE ENJOYED A BRIEF TASTE OF SUMMER-LIKE WEATHER AS THE HIGH CLIMED TO 81 DEGREES AT O'HARE... WHICH IS JUST ONE DEGREE SHY OF TYING THE RECORD. ROCKFORD ALSO CLIMBED TO 81 DEGREES...WHICH ENDED UP SETTING A NEW RECORD HIGH. HOWEVER JUST THREE DAYS LATER...HIGH TEMPERATURES DIDN'T CLIMB OUT OF THE 30S FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS.
April 2
...CHICAGO... April 2, 1975: WINTER GAVE NORTHERN ILLINOIS A LATE PUNCH. HIGH TEMPERATURES FELL INTO THE MIDDLE AND LOWER 30S WITH A HEAVY...WET SNOW. CHICAGO HAD A SNOWFALL TOTAL OF 9.4 INCHES...THE GREATEST SNOWFALL EVER RECORDED FOR THIS DATE. JUST UNDER ANOTHER HALF INCH OF SNOW FELL THE NEXT DAY...AND THE HIGH TEMPERATURE DIDN'T EVEN GET ABOVE FREEZING. THE SNOW DID NOT COMPLETELY MELT AWAY UNTIL ELEVEN DAYS LATER.
...ROCKFORD... April 2, 1936: WINTER LINGERED THROUGH THE FIRST SEVEN DAYS OF THE MONTH IN ROCKFORD DURING 1936. PARTICURILY ON THIS DATE...4.5 INCHES OF SNOW FELL...MAKING IT ONE OF THE LARGEST ONE DAY SNOWFALL TOTALS FOR ANY APRIL DAY OVER THE PERIOD OF RECORD. THIS MONTH WAS ONE OF THE SNOWIEST AS WELL AS THE 1ST REPORTED 1.0 INCH AND THE 6TH WITH 3.5 INCHES.
April 3
April 3, 1974: TORNADOS FORMED IN 13 STATES DURING THE "SUPER OUTBREAK"...ONE OF THE WORST TORNADO OUTBREAKS IN U.S. HISTORY. A TOTAL OF 148 TORNADOS WERE RECORDED IN THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN U.S....INCLUDING ILLINOIS. THIS OUTBREAK KILLED 307 PEOPLE AND PRODUCED 600 MILLION DOLLARS DAMAGE. A TOTAL OF THIRTEEN TORNADOES HIT ILLINOIS...WITH THE ACTIVITY OCCURRING APPROXIMATELY 2:07 AND 5:00 PM CDT. TWO INDIVIDUALS WERE KILLED AND MORE THAN 20 INJURED...WITH THE WORST DAMAGE OCCURRING DOWNSTATE.
April 4
April 4, 1929: WARM AIR SETTLED OVER NORTHERN ILLINOIS... STARTING ON THE 3RD AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE 7TH. ON THIS DATE...THE HIGH CLIMBED TO 79 DEGREES AT CHICAGO WHICH TIED WITH 1921 FOR THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED ON THIS DATE. ROCKFORD RESIDENTS ALSO EXPERIENCED THIS UNSEASONABLE WARMTH AS THE MERCURY SOARED TO 84 DEGREES. THIS ESTABLISHED A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE 4TH.
April 5
April 5, 1988: SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS. 0.75 INCH HAIL FELL IN WINNEBAGO COUNTY AT 6:20 PM. THESES STORMS ALSO DROPPED 1.75 INCH HAIL IN KANE COUNTY WHILE WIDESPREAD REPORTS OF WIND GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH WERE NOTED. HOWEVER AT 8 PM...A F2 TORNADO DEVELOPED IN GRUNDY COUNTY AND TRAVELED EASTWARD INTO WILL COUNTY. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS INJURED ALTHOUGH A COUPLE OF TRAILER HOMES WERE DEMOLISHED AND SEVERAL BUILDINGS HAD ROOF DAMAGE.
April 6
April 6, 1988: AFTER A VERY STRONG COLD FRONT MOVED THROUGH NORTHERN ILLINOIS...VERY STRONG WINDS WERE REPORTED ACROSS THE STATE. IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO...97 WINDOWS WERE BLOWN OUT OF THE SEARS TOWER AND THE STATE'S OLDEST TREE...ESTIMATED TO BE 700 YEARS OLD...WAS BLOWN OVER. THE STRONG WINDS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES...WHICH RESULTED IN 50,000 COMED CUSTOMERS TO BRIEFLY LOSE POWER. WIND GUSTS REACHED 58 MPH AT O'HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...75 MPH ALONG THE LAKEFRONT... AND 47 MPH AT ROCKFORD.
April 7
...CHICAGO... April 7, 1948: SIX TORNADOES RIPPED THROUGH NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA...MAINLY ACROSS THE SOUTH AND EAST SUBURBS OF CHICAGO. THE FIRST TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT 4:40 PM NEAR THE GRUNDY WILL COUNTY BORDER. THE HARDEST HIT WAS FROM A TORNADO THAT MOVED EAST FROM NEAR MANTENO, ILLINOIS TO NEAR HEBRON INDIANA. THIS LEFT THREE PEOPLE DEAD IN GRANT PARK, ILLINOIS AND ONE PERSON KILLED IN A FARM HOUSE NEAR HEBRON IN INDIANA. THE OVERALL DEATH TOLL WAS FOUR WITH 67 PEOPLE INJURED. OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN DAMAGE WAS ALSO REPORTED.
...ROCKFORD... April 7, 1982: COLD WEATHER SETTLED OVER NORTHERN ILLINOIS...BRINGING THE RETURN TO WINTER CONDITIONS. ON THIS DATE...THE TEMPERATURE NEVER CLIMBED ABOVE FREEZING. THE LOW PLUMMETED TO A RECORD 5 ABOVE...WHICH STANDS AS THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN APRIL.
April 8
...CHICAGO... April 8, 1874: IT WAS A COOL SPRING DAY ACROSS CHICAGO. IN FACT... THE WHOLE MONTH WAS ON THE COOL SIDE. THIS MONTH ONLY HAD THREE DAYS WHEN THE HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS EQUAL OR GREATER THAN 60 DEGREES. HALF OF THE MONTH HAD MORNING LOW TEMPERATURES AT OR BELOW FREEZING. OVERALL...THIS MONTH IS THE COLDEST APRIL IN CHICAGO'S HISTORY WITH A MONTHLY MEAN TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 38.8 DEGREES.
...ROCKFORD... April 8, 1982: WINTER CONTINUED ITS ICY GRIP AS FROM THE 4TH THROUGH THE 9TH...HIGH TEMPERATURES NEVER CLIMBED OUT OF THE 30S. IN FACT ON THE 8TH...THE HIGH ONLY REACHED 33 DEGREES...SETTING A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THIS DATE. THIS AIDED IN APRIL OF 1982 RANKING IN THE TOP 10 COLDEST APRILS IN ROCKFORDS HISTORY.
April 9
...CHICAGO... April 9, 1953: AS THE WEATHER BUREAU STARTED A NEW ERA OF TRACKING STORMS BY RADAR...THE FIRST RADAR IMAGE OF A TORNADO WAS DETECTED BY RADAR EQUIPMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AIRPORT IN CHAMPAIGN, IL. STUDIES OF THE RADAR PICTURES FROM THAT DAY SHOWED THAT A TORNADO OF SIGNIFICANT SIZE AND INTENSITY COULD BE DETECTED...IDENTIFIED BY A HOOK-SHAPE ON THE SOUTHWESTERN EDGE OF A THUNDERSTORM.
April 10
April 10, 1930: A RARE SUMMER-LIKE HEAT WAVE DOMINATED MUCH OF THE MIDWEST DURING THE 10TH AND THE 11TH. ON THIS DATE...ROCKFORD RECORDED 93 DEGREES...THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED FOR THE CITY DURING APRIL. THE NEXT DAY THEY SET ANOTHER RECORD WITH 88 DEGREES. CHICAGO WASN'T SPARED...WHERE A RECORD-SETTING 90 DEGREES WAS RECORDED ON THE TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS.
April 11
...CHICAGO... April 11, 1965: THE "PALM SUNDAY" TORNADO OUTBREAK OCCURRED IN ILLINOIS AND FIVE OTHER STATES. SHORTLY BEFORE 3:30 PM A F4 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR CRYSTAL LAKE AND TRAVELED A DESTRUCTIVE 11 MILES. IN A SINGLE SUBDIVISION 45 HOMES WERE DESTROYED AND 110 BADLY DAMAGED. MAJOR DAMAGE ALSO OCCURRED AT ISLAND LAKE. TRAGICALLY FIVE PEOPLE DIED AT CRYSTAL LAKE AND ONE IN ISLAND LAKE...WHERE 75 INDIVIDUALS WERE INJURED. AT 3:50 PM A SMALLER TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AS A WATERSPOUT ON DRUCE LAKE...THEN MOVING ONSHORE AND DAMAGING OVER A DOZEN HOMES NEAR GURNEE.
April 12
...CHICAGO...April 12, 1947: APRIL OF 1947 WAS A CLOUDY AND WET MONTH WITH SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR SEVERAL DAYS. ON THIS DATE IN CHICAGO...IT RAINED 0.02 INCHES...THE TWELFTH CONSECUTIVE DAY WHEN A TRACE OR MORE OF PRECIPITATION FELL. RAIN OR SNOW FELL ON 24 DAYS OF THE MONTH MAKING IT THE WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD FOR THE CITY...WITH A TOTAL OF 8.33 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION.
...ROCKFORD...April 12, 1941: ROCKFORD RESIDENTS ENJOYED A GLIMPSE OF SUMMER AS THE HIGH CLIMBED TO 84 DEGREES. THIS TIED WITH 1925 AS THE HIGHEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDED ON THE 12TH. THIS WAS NOT THE ONLY 80 DEGREE TEMPERATURE RECORDED DURING THE MONTH. THE 28TH THROUGH THE 30TH ALL RECORDED A HIGH OF AT LEAST 80 DEGREES. THIS LED TO APRIL OF 1941 AS THE 7TH WARMEST APRIL ON RECORD.
April 13
April 13, 1955: APRIL OF 1955 WAS AN UNUSUALLY WARM MONTH ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS. ALTHOUGH NO RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE SET AT BOTH ROCKFORD AND CHICAGO...THIS APRIL TURNED OUT TO BE THE WARMEST IN RECORDED HISTORY FOR CHICAGO AS THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 57.0 DEGREES WAS A LITTLE OVER 9 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. WHILE AT ROCKFORD...APRIL OF 1955 RANKED AS THE 2ND WARMEST APRIL ON RECORD WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 54.6 DEGREES. THIS IS ALMOST 7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL!
April 14
...CHICAGO...April 14, 1899: ON THIS DATE ONLY A TRACE OF RAIN FELL ACROSS CHICAGO. THIS WAS FAIRLY COMMON DURING APRIL OF 1899...WHEN MEASUREABLE PRECIPITATION WAS RECORDED ON JUST FIVE DAYS. THIS IS THE DRIEST APRIL ON RECORD WITH A TOTAL OF 0.14 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION. THAT IS ONLY FOUR PERCENT OF THE NORMAL APRIL PRECIPITATION TOTAL. THIS IS ALSO THE 5TH DRIEST MONTH IN CHICAGOS'RECORDED HISTORY.
...ROCKFORD... APRIL 14, 1907: SPRING WEATHER WAS HARD TO COME BY IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS. THE MAJORITY OF THE MONTH EXPERIENCED BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THIS WAS THE 2ND DAY WHERE THE HIGH FAILED TO CLIMB ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK...SETTING A LOWEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD OF 32 DEGREES ON THE 13TH AND 14TH. AS A RESULT OF THE BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATUERS...APRIL OF 1907 IS THE COLDEST APRIL ON RECORD.
April 15
April 15, 1976: STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS BROUGHT UNUSUALLY WARM TEMPERATURES INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS...GIVING THE CHICAGO AREA RECORD SETTING HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE DAYS. ON THIS DATE...THE LOW ONLY FELL TO 67 DEGREES WHILE 69 AND 68 DEGREES WERE RECORDED THE NEXT TWO DAYS RESPECTIVELY. WHILE ROCKFORD DIDN'T SEE THE STRING OF RECORD BREAKING LOW TEMPERATURES...ON THE 15TH...THE LOW FELL TO 61 DEGREES WHICH ALSO ESTABLISHED A NEW HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD. LOW TEMPERATURES OF 60 AND 63 DEGREES WERE RECORDED OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS AS WELL.
April 16
...CHICAGO...April 16, 1961: A LATE WINTER STORM MOVED ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS...WITH SNOW FALLING FOR 3 CONSECUTIVE DAYS. ON THIS DATE ALONE OVER 5 INCHES WAS RECODED IN CHICAGO. WINDS WERE GUSTING UP TO 45 MPH CAUSING DRIFTS TO REACH UP TO 10 FEET HIGH. TRANSPORTATION CAME TO A STANDSTILL WITH STRANDED PEOPLE STAYING OVERNIGHT IN NEARBY HOMES AND ARMORIES. AT LEAST SIX DEATHS WERE ATTRIBUTED TO THE HEAVY SNOW.
...ROCKFORD... APRIL 16, 1972: HEAVY RAIN FELL OVER THE CITY OF ROCKFORD...PRODUCING A WHOPPING TOTAL OF 3.17 INCHES. THIS WAS THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION TO EVER FALL ON THIS DATE AND THE 2ND HIGHEST 24-HOUR TOTAL IN ROCKFORDS RECORDED HISTORY TO FALL DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL.
April 17
...CHICAGO... April 17, 1963: SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED ACROSS KANKAKEE COUNTY IN ILLINOIS AND NEWTON...JASPER...AND PULASKI COUNTIES IN INDIANA. SHORTLY BEFORE 4 PM...A NEAR F5 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN KANKAKEE COUNTY AND MOVED INTO NORTHWEST INDIANA. IN KANKAKEE COUNTY SEVERAL HOMES LITERALLY VANISHED. THE WORST DAMAGE WAS IN POPULATED AREAS NORTH OF KANKAKEE AND AT BOURBONNAIS...WHERE ONE WOMAN WAS KILLED. NEARLY 50 PEOPLE WERE INJURED IN ILLINOIS AND ANOTHER 20 IN NORTHWEST INDIANA.
...ROCKFORD... April 17, 1983: COLD WEATHER RETURNED FOR MID APRIL DURING 1983. IN FACT MUCH OF THE MONTH EXPERIENCED BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES...MAKING IT FEEL MORE LIKE WINTER THAN SPRING. ON THIS DATE...THE HIGH ONLY CLIMBED TO 38 DEGREES WHILE THE LOW FELL TO 24....SETTING NEW RECORD LOW MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES. TEMPERATURES ESPECIALLY DURING MID MONTH WERE AROUND 12 TO 18 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL...MAKING APRIL OF 1983 ON OF THE TOP 10 COLDEST APRILS IN ROCKFORDS RECORDED HISTORY.
April 18
...CHICAGO... April 18, 1975: A COLD FRONT...WITH A LARGE AMOUNT OF RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH IT...MOVED THROUGH NORTHERN ILLINOIS. AT ONE POINT...AROUND 5 PM...THE RAIN WAS COMING DOWN AT A RATE OF 1.8 INCHES PER HOUR IN THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA. BY MIDNIGHT...THE CITY RECORDED 3.83 INCHES OF RAIN, THE LARGEST 24-HOUR PRECIPITATION TOTAL FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL EVER...AND THE 13TH LARGEST 24-HOUR PRECIPITATION TOTAL IN CHICAGO'S HISTORY.
...ROCKFORD... April 18, 2002: SOUTHERLY WINDS BROUGHT MILD AIR TO NORTHERN ILLINOIS. FROM THE 15TH THROUGH THE 18TH...ROCKFORD EITHER TIED OR BROKE RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES FIVE TIMES. OVER THIS FOUR DAY PERIOD...DAILY HIGHS AND LOWS WERE RUNNING 25 TO 35 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.
April 19
...CHICAGO... April 19, 1966: A F2 TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST IN DUPAGE COUNTY... JUST NORTH OF LISLE. LUCKLY NO ONE WAS KILLED AS THIS TORNADO FORMED AROUND 10:30 PM. HOWEVER THREE PEOPLE WERE INJURED AS HOMES WERE UNROOFED AND SOME WALLS CAVED IN. THIS TORNADO TRAVELED ABOUT A HALF OF A MILE AND IN TOTAL AROUND 40 HOMES WERE DAMAGED.
...ROCKFORD... April 19, 1983: A VERY STRONG CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVED INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND MIDWEST. NORTHERN ILLINOIS EXPERIENCED A WEEK OF WELL BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. ON THIS DATE...ROCKFORD RECORDED A VERY WINTER-LIKE LOW OF 16 DEGREES. NOT ONLY WAS THIS THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED DURING THE MONTH...IT SET A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE 19TH WHICH STILL STANDS TODAY.
April 20
April 20, 2004: A RATHER TYPICAL RAINY LATE SPRING MORNING BLOSSOMED INTO A TIRADE OF TORNADIC ACTIVITY ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS BY LATE AFTERNOON. AS MANY AS FIVE SUPERCELLS PRODUCED 13 DISTINCT TORNADOES RANGING FROM F0 TO F3 IN INTENSITY. DAMAGE FROM TORNADOES OCCURED NEAR KANKAKEE...JOLIET...AND UTICA...WHERE 8 DEATHS WERE REPORTED. NUMEROUS OTHER SIGHTINGS WERE REPORTED WITH LITTLE OR NO DAMAGE.
April 21
April 21, 1967: A LARGE OUTBREAK OF TORNADOS OCCURRED DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING IN FIVE STATES...INCLUDING ILLINOIS...AND IS REMEMBERED AS THE TRAGIC "BELVIDERE TORNADO". THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR CHERRY VALLEY...PASSING ACROSS THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST SIDE OF BELVIDERE...THEN SOUTH OF HARVARD AND LIFTING NORTH OF WOODSTOCK. AT LEAST 7 PEOPLE WERE KILLED AT A SHOPPING CENTER AND AT LEAST 13 WERE KILLED AND 300 INJURED AT THE BELVIDERE HIGH SCHOOL. THE TORNADO SWEPT INTO THE BUS LOADING AREAS AS THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE BEING DISMISSED. IN THE CHAOS THAT FOLLOWED...12 BUSSES WERE OVERTURNED OR THROWN. STUDENTS AND TEACHERS USED SCHOOL DOORS AND PLYWOOD FROM NEARBY HOUSES AS STRETCHERS FOR THE INJURED, CARRYING THEM BACK INTO THE SCHOOL. SOUTH OF HARVARD...A SCHOOL BUS WAS RIPPED IN HALF AND THROWN INTO NEARBY POWER LINES AS THE DRIVER AND 20 STUDENTS HID IN A NEARBY DITCH. LATER THAT AFTERNOON A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR PALOS HILLS AND MOVED ACROSS THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO DURING THE EVENING RUSH HOUR. MANY DEATHS OCCURRED IN CARS STUCK IN TRAFFIC...AND SEVERAL CHILDREN WERE KILLED WHEN THE TORNADO STRUCK A ROLLER SKATING RINK. IN ILLINOIS...58 INDIVIDUALS LOST THEIR LIVES AND OVER 1100 WERE INJURED.
April 22
April 22, 1986: A COLD CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVED INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS DURING THE WEEK. TEMPERATURES WERE SO COLD THAT OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET 3 CONSECUTIVE DAYS IN CHICAGO. ON THIS DATE...THE MORNING LOW WAS 24 DEGREES. ROCKFORD HAD A RECORD-SETTING LOW OF 23 DEGREES.
April 23
...CHICAGO... April 23, 1961: MOTHER NATURE UNLEASHED HER FURY ON THIS DATE... MAINLY IN THE SOUTH SUBURBS OF CHICAGO. JOLIET REPORTED AN INCH OF HAIL WITH SOME HAILSTONES THE SIZE OF GOLFBALLS. HEAVY RAIN FROM THESE STORMS ALSO RESULTED IN SOME FLOODING. A TORNADO STRUCK THE TOWN OF PEOTONE AROUND 4 PM RESULTING IN DAMAGE TO NEARLY EVERY BUILDING WITH DAMAGE ALSO REPORTED IN LORENZO AND WILTON CENTER. DAMAGE WAS ESTIMATED AT 9 MILLION DOLLARS WITH ABOUT 30,000 BUILDINGS AFFECTED.
...ROCKFORD... April 23, 1990: DESPITE A COLD START TO APRIL...SUMMER-LIKE WEATHER MADE AN APPEARANCE TOWARD THE END OF THE MONTH. FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS...STARTING ON THIS DATE...HIGH TEMPERATURES CLIMBED INTO THE 80S. WHILE NO RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE SET...A COUPLE OF HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE ESTABLISHED OVER THESE FIVE DAYS.
April 24
...CHICAGO...April 24, 1925: HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVED INTO CHICAGOLAND...SOAKING THE AREA. BETWEEN 5 AND 6 PM...MIDWAY AIRPORT HAD 2.05 INCHES OF RAIN. DURING THAT HOUR 1.29 INCHES FELL IN ONE 5-MINUTE PERIOD...SETTING THE RECORD FOR THE MOST RAINFALL IN ANY SINGLE 5-MINUTE PERIOD FOR CHICAGO. THAT IS MORE THAN ONE THIRD OF THE MONTHLY AVERAGE.
...ROCKFORD... APRIL 24, 1939: ALTHOUGH MUCH OF APRIL WAS BELOW NORMAL...TYPICAL SUMMER-LIKE TEMPERATURES IN THE 80S MADE AN APPEARANCE OVER A TWO DAY PERIOD. READINGS OF 86 AND 85 DEGREES OCCURRED ON THE 24TH AND 25TH RESPECTIVELY. ALTHOUGH NO RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE SET... THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THE MERCURY BROKE 80 DEGREES FOR THE YEAR.
April 25
...CHICAGO... April 25, 1950: HEAVY RAIN FELL ON THE CHICAGO AREA ON THE 24TH AND 25TH. A TOTAL OF 2.13 INCHES FELL OVER THE TWO DAYS WHICH FLOODED MANY UNDERPASSES AND SOME NORTHERN AND WESTERN SUBURBS WERE HEAVILY DAMAGED BY FLOODS.
...ROCKFORD... April 25, 1986: HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 90 DEGREES OCCURRED BACK TO BACK ON THE 25TH AND 26TH. BESIDES SETTING HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS ON BOTH DATES...THIS WAS THE SECOND APRIL IN HISTORY TO RECORD TEMPERATURES OF AT LEAST 90 DEGREES ON TWO DAYS. THE PREVIOUS YEAR WAS IN 1952.
April 26
...CHICAGO... April 26, 1994: STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH NORTHEAST AND CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THESE STORMS PRODUCED HAIL WITH SOME AREAS SEEING GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL. TWO SMALL TORNADOES ALSO TOUCHED DOWN IN WILL COUNTY PRODUCING DAMAGE TO GRAIN BINS AND OTHER FARM BUILDINGS. SOME TREE DAMAGE AND AN ANTENNA WAS ALSO KNOCKED OVER. THESE STORMS ALSO DOWNED POWER LINES AND SNAPPED A POWER POLE EAST OF GILMAN ON HIGHWAY 24. AN ABANDONED CINDER BLOCK CAR WASH WAS MOVED FROM ITS FOUNDATION AND ITS ROOF WAS DAMAGED. SEVERAL METAL STORAGE BUILDINGS WERE DAMAGED... WITH ONE LANDING ON A CAR.
...ROCKFORD... April 26, 1910: A BRIEF COLD SNAP SET IN FOR THE END OF APRIL. HIGH TEMPERATURES FROM THE 24TH THROUGH THE 26TH RANGED FROM THE UPPER 20S TO AROUND 40 DEGREES...SETTING NEW LOWEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS ON THE THREE DAYS.
April 27
...CHICAGO...April 27, 1992: A MODERATELY STRONG TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN SOUTHWEST OF PLAINFIELD LATE IN THE AFTERNOON AND TRAVELED NORTHWEST KILLING ONE PERSON AND INJURING FIVE. MOST OF THE DAMAGE OCCURRED IN THE PLAINSMAN TERRACE-LILY CACHE AREA. FOURTY-THREE HOMES WERE DAMAGED...14 OF WHICH WERE VIRTUALLY DESTROYED. LARGE WOODEN BEAMS WERE RAMMED INTO NEARBY HOUSES. DAMAGE WAS RECORDED TO BE MORE THAN ONE MILLION DOLLARS.
...ROCKFORD... APRIL 27, 1933: THIS WAS THE 11TH DAY DURING THE MONTH WHERE LOW TEMPERATURES FELL BELOW THE FREEZING MARK. ON THIS DATE...ROCKFORD RECORDED A LOW TEMPERATURE OF 26 DEGREES. THIS TIED WITH 1928 AND 1907 FOR THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED ON THE 27TH.
April 28
...CHICAGO...April 28, 1950: THIS WAS THE THIRD TIME DURING THE MONTH THAT MEASURABLE SNOW FELL ACROSS CHICAGO. DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH...STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS BROUGHT WELL BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA. SEVERAL LOW TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET THIS MONTH ...MAKING IT THE 4TH COLDEST APRIL IN CHICAGO'S HISTORY.
...ROCKFORD... APRIL 28, 1922: LOW TEMPERATURES FROM THE 27TH TO THE 29TH NEVER CLIMBED ABOVE 30 DEGREES. ALTHOUGH NO RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES WERE RECORDED OVER THIS THREE DAY PERIOD...THESE DAYS WERE THE LAST TIMES TEMPERATURES FELL BELOW FREEZING UNTIL THE FALL OF 1922.
April 29
...CHICAGO... April 29, 1909: HEAVY RAIN FELL ON THE CHICAGO AREA ON THIS DATE... PRODUCING A TOTAL OF 2.75 INCHES. THIS SET A GREATEST PRECIPITATION RECORD FOR THE 29TH. NOT ONLY WAS THIS THE GREATEST 24 HOUR TOTAL DURING THE MONTH...BUT AIDED IN APRIL OF 1909 GOING DOWN AS THE 3RD WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD WITH A TOTAL OF 7.73 INCHES.
...ROCKFORD... April 29, 1915: DESPITE THE CHILLY START TO THE MONTH...SUMMER-LIKE WEATHER SURE SET IN FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE MONTH. ON THIS DATE... THE HIGH CLIMBED TO 90 DEGREES WHICH SET A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE 30TH. THIS WASN'T THE ONLY RECORD HIGH SET DURING THE MONTH...WHICH RESULTED IN APRIL OF 1915 GOING DOWN AS THE WARMEST APRIL IN ROCKFORDS RECORDED HISTORY.
April 30
...CHICAGO...April 30, 1962: VERY STRONG WINDS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT MOVED THROUGH THE CHICAGO AREA...WITH RECORDED WINDS REACHING 69 MPH. WIND AND LIGHTNING DAMAGE WAS WIDESPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA WITH SOME FUNNEL CLOUDS BEING REPORTED.
...ROCKFORD... APRIL 30, 1942: ROCKFORD RESIDENTS ENJOYED SUMMER-LIKE CONDITIONS FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS OF APRIL. ON THIS DATE...THE HIGH REACHED 91 DEGREES WHILE THE LOW ONLY FELL TO 63. THIS SET NEW HIGH MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS FOR THE 30TH AND WAS THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED DURING THE MONTH.
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