ACON - VA/NC/SC
The Atlantic Coast Observer Network: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina

April produced a steady variety of changing weather across the region as no significant weather patterns became established.   But then the coming of spring is like that.  A balancing act between warm and cool spells produced temps close to normal with some stations at or slightly above, but with many in the western sections of our region well below.  Rainfall was in excess which would contribute to cooler temps during this changing season, particularly with the higher amount of cloud cover during the month at many stations.  Even some snowfall was noted across the western and northern sections with as much as 3" reported in areas near Blacksburg at Burke's Garden.

NOTES FROM "AROUND THE LEAGUE"

Virginia:

Annandale -  Lowell sends these notes: "This was the cloudiest April in over 14 years.  (Sky cover records at this station since 1986)
It was also the wettest since 1990 when the same amount of rain was recorded.    The 5.58 inches was +2.17 inches above the average  with measurable rain on 13 days which is the  most days with rain in April since 1990.     The  2.20 inches of rain on the 17th was the most rain in one April day since 1983.    The 1.0 inches of snow on the 9th was the most on record here for the month of April ( 20 years of records)  The  mean temperature was just a little below average as the max was 64.4ø a dep. of -1.3ø but the ave.    Minimum was 45.2ø a dep. of +0.7ø.  The cloudy days were cooler and the cloudy nights a little warmer thus a small daily temp range of 19.2ø  which was the least since 1987  The 43mph wind on the 9th was the highest wind gust recorded here in April since 1997 when the April record  gust of 45 mph was recorded . "

Arlington - NWS WBC notes DCA's mean temp was 0.9^o degree below normal while the rainfall departure was +2.42".  Year-to-date precip was 3.52" in excess of the norm.

Blacksburg/Roanoke/Lynchburg Area - A BIT OF A REVERSAL IN THE TREND OF THE PAST FEW MONTHS OCCURRED IN
APRIL.  TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION...FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE DECEMBER...WERE SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL.  PRECIPITATION...ON THE OTHER  HAND...WAS ABOVE NORMAL.  ALTHOUGH WINTER ENDED LAST MONTH...SNOW FELL ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA ON THREE SEPARATE DAYS IN APRIL.  LOW PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHEAST KEPT NORTHWESTERLY FLOW OVER THE REGION...WITH A SERIES OF COLD FRONTS MOVING THROUGH ON THE 4TH AND 5TH.  MOST AREAS HAD ONLY A DUSTING. A LOW DEVELOPING OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS ON THE 7TH BEGAN MOVING A STRONG COLD FRONT TOWARD THE MIDATLANTIC REGION. AHEAD OF THE FRONT...STRONG SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW RESULTED IN ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES
WITH HIGHS FROM THE MID 70S TO THE MID 80S. THE 7TH WAS THE WARMEST DAY OF THE MONTH. THE FRONT PASSED THROUGH ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 8TH...AND BY THAT EVENING TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 30S. WITH COLD NORTHWESTERLY FLOW BEHIND THE FRONT...SNOW FELL AGAIN ON THE 9TH.  3 TENTHS OF AN INCH WAS RECORDED IN BLACKSBURG...BRINGING THE SEASONAL TOTAL TO 19.5 INCHES.  A COUPLE OF INCHES OF SNOW FELL IN THE SOUTHWESTERN MOUNTAINS...AND BURKES GARDEN REPORTED 3 INCHES.  STRONG WINDS ON THE 9TH...ALONG WITH TEMPERATURES BELOW FREEZING IN SOME AREAS...ADDED TO THE FEELING THAT
WINTER HAD RETURNED. ...TEMPERATURES WARMED QUICKLY AGAIN...BUT ON THE 12TH ANOTHER COLD FRONT PASSED THROUGH...THEN STALLED OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST.  NORTHEASTERLY FLOW OVER THE MID ATLANTIC REGION ON THE 13TH AND 14TH HELD IN CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION...AND TEMPERATURES REMAINED IN THE 40S BOTH DAYS.  A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING FROM THE WEST ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY ON THE 17TH...RESULTED IN WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...MANY OF WHICH HAD HAIL AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS.  HAIL SEVERAL INCHES DEEP FELL IN PARTS OF CHRISTIANSBURG...AND A TORNADO WAS EVEN REPORTED IN CAMPBELL COUNTY...ALTHOUGH IT CAUSED LITTLE OR NO DAMAGE. WARM TEMPERATURES AGAIN OCCURRED AHEAD OF THE FRONT...WHICH PASSED THROUGH ON THE 18TH.  HIGH PRESSURE AGAIN MOVED IN ON THE 19TH AHEAD OF ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVING EASTWARD OUT OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS.  THIS FRONT MOVED THROUGH DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THE 21ST...WITH ONLY A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS.  THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVED FROM OKLAHOMA ON THE 23RD...TO THE CAROLINAS ON THE 25TH.  WITH THE LOW REMAINING TO THE SOUTH...SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA
HAD COOL TEMPERATURES AND RAIN FROM THE AFTERNOON OF THE 24TH THROUGH THE 25TH.  LOW PRESSURE REMAINED OFFSHORE FOR SEVERAL DAYS...WITH MOST OF THE REMAINDER OF THE MONTH A BIT COOLER THAN NORMAL.  HIGH PRESSURE RETURNED AT THE END OF THE MONTH...WITH TEMPERATURES RIGHT AROUND NORMAL.

In Blacksburg, the monthly mean temp was 1 degree below normal while precip was 1.61" above normal.

Bridgewater - Here are Clayton's April notes:  "The temperature and precipitation for the month were above average.  Precipitation for the year is 2.34 inches below normal. The first half of April was dry while the last half was rather wet.    Last fall during the drought, a large section of my back yard was bare, and it appeared that the grass had died out. I was sure that I would have to reseed this area. What a difference moisture makes! With the rains in April, the grass has grown back, and the whole yard has a beautiful green color. The farmers fields are also quite green. The Shenandoah Valley can once again be referred to as 'The Beautiful Shenandoah Valley'."

Centerville - Paul noted, "And I thought winter was over...After the "storm" of April 9th with 0.2" of snow, I now declare the season done!  It was a wet first three weeks with the monthly accumulation 2" above the 3.14" average.  While the average daily temperature was 3.8^o above the 53.3^o norm, nightly temps were  6.9^o higher than the 41^o normal.  (Must have been from the exhausts of the snow blowers!)

Dulles - The monthly mean temp, according to NWS WBC, was 0.6 degree above normal while precip for the month was 1.25" above.
Rainfall for the year-to-date at month's end was 0.34" above the norm.

Falls Church - Erica writes: "A very damp, rainy, dismal month.  April 2000 was below normal temperature wise and way above normal in rainfall.  April 9 brought 1/2" of snow to Falls Church on grassy areas and on trees.  Hoping for a sunnier, warmer May!"

Fredericksburg - Ken reports "a warm and wet April.  One dramatic event was a cold front which entered the area in mid-afternoon on the 8th, dropping the temperature from a high of 80^o to a low of 32^o the following morning.  Rain ended as light snow after midnight."

Hampton - April temps here were near normal with precipitation 1.5" above normal.  Dave adds, not as much sunshine as we usually see but April can be that way in Hampton Roads.  No station records were tied or broken.

Herndon - Notes from Russ:  We had record rainfall on the 8th of 1.1" and on the 17th of 2.27". Temperatures were slightly above normal. A strong cold front brought the record rainfall on the 8th, which changed to snow before ending. Winds gusted to 38mph
and the temperature dropped 23 degrees with the front's passing.  Some noisy thunderstorms woke up the neighborhood on the 17th
and again brought record rainfall.

Lynchburg - From NWS BCB: The monthly mean temp was 1.6 degrees below normal.

New Market - Joyce reported an April that produced temperatures near normal levels and precipitation that was above normal but VERY welcome.  The fields have greened-up well.

Norfolk - From NWS AKQ:  The monthly mean temp was 1/2 degree above the norm while rainfall was only 0.64" in excess of the norm.  The average wind speed was 11.9 MPH.

Portsmouth - With 17 days having measurable precip, one might deduce the month was cloudier than normal.  One would be right!  A rather warm start to the first 8 days was followed by alternating cooler and milder days for the balance of the month with a deficit in mean temp of 0.6^o.  Max temps were well below normal (-1.9^o)  but min temps were some 8/10th degree above the norm.  Rainfall for the month was 0.43" above normal.    Year-to-date precip ran 2.33" below the norm through the end of the month (or 85% of the norm).  Temps for the year were averaging 1.5^o above the normal.  Three NEW monthly station records: precip 0.93" on the 18th,  precip 0.53" on the 25th,  and a new min max temperature of 56^o on the 25th.  The month's average wind speed was 6.4 MPH and the dominant direction was SSW.

Richmond - According to NWS AKQ, Richmond saw mean temps just below normal (-0.9 deg.) while rainfall was 1.82" in excess.  The average wind speed was 9.8 MPH.

Mechanicsville - Glenn reports that strong thunderstorms with heavy rain and sharp lightning occurred on the 17th,  the 18th, and the 21st.

Roanoke - Wendell reports the month was cooler and wetter than normal.  Rainfall was 0.43" in excess of the norm while temps were
1.2^o below the norm.  In fact, April 2000 averaged only 3.6 degree warmer than March 2000.

Roanoke - NWS BCB notes: The monthly mean temp was 0.8 degree below normal while precip was 2.46" above the norm.

Vienna - Robert reports a mean monthly temp 1.4^o  in excess of the norm.  Please note his new email address below.

Woodstock -  Lauck reports the month saw precip a little above average for April while temps were a little below.

North Carolina:

Asheville - From NWS GSP: The monthly mean temp was 2.2^o below the normal while rainfall was 1.75" above normal.  The average wind speed was 7.8 MPH.

Brevard -  Bob's remarks: "April 2000 was an average April temperature wise. with a 284 mean 30 heating degree-days, compared with 280 HDD for the past five Aprils and 298 for the past ten. One cooling DD was recorded. Rain, 7.13" for the month, was high for April with a 4.91" five-year and 4.53" ten year average. However, the years accumulation through April, 25.72" was only slightly less than the five-year average of 26.42" and equals the ten-year average. The month was also cloudy with an average cloud cover of percent.
Only four days were cloud free while seven days had total cover. Since this is the first year that I have recorded cloud cover, I have no prior experience for comparison purposes."

Charlotte - NWS GSP reports the mean temp at CLT was 2.3 degrees below the norm while precip was 2.8" above norm.  The average wind speed was 7.2 MPH.

Greensboro - - NWS RAH reports that the mean temp here for April was 1.4 degrees below normal while rainfall was 1.63" in excess of the norm.  No records were set.

NEW!  Lumberton -   This is our first report from FAA Lumberton in Southern North Carolina, just north of the South Carolina border and SSW of Fayetteville by a little over 20 miles.

Raleigh -   Bob reports: "April weather was cool and damp.  Rainfall was recorded on 16 days and 7 days experienced overcast skies the whole day.  As one would expect with these conditions, temperatures average below normal by more than 1^o .   The only severe weather event was small hail (1/4-3/4") on the 29th which lasted less that 10 minutes.

Raleigh - NWS RDU reports these records for April:  A NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS SET ON THE 3RD.
THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 61 DEGREES.  THE NEW RECORD IS 62 DEGREES.  A NEW DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS SET ON THE 28TH.  THE PREVIOUS RECORDED WAS 57 DEGREES. THE NEW RECORD IS 56 DEGREES.  THE DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS TIED ON THE 25TH.  THE RECORD TEMPERATURE IS 56 DEGREES.  The mean monthly temp was 1.4 degrees below the norm.  The precip for the month was 2.07" above the normal.

Roxboro - Merriell remarks: "April was mostly cloudy and dreary along with cool temperatures.  The month received more than twice its normal rainfall.  Monthly average temperatures were down a degree.  There were about ten spring like days."

Wilmington - ...A WET APRIL IN THE PORT CITY...THE PROMINENT WILMINGTON WEATHER FEATURE IN APRIL WAS RAIN.  THE TOTAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH WAS 1.77"  ABOVE NORMAL.   NO RAINFALL RECORDS WERE SET OR TIED.

AFTER A PAIR OF VERY WARM MONTHS...TEMPERATURES DROPPED TO BELOW NORMAL VALUES IN APRIL. THE AVERAGE  TEMPERATURE WAS 1.0 DEGREE TOO COOL.   NO TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE BROKEN OR TIED.

SUNSHINE WAS RATHER LIMITED. ONLY 43 PERCENT OF POSSIBLE SUNSHINE WAS RECEIVED (NORMAL IS 71 PERCENT).

CLIMATOLOGICALLY...APRIL IS THE WINDIEST MONTH OF THE YEAR IN THE PORT CITY AND APRIL OF 2000 DID NOT DISAPPOINT. THE AVERAGE WIND SPEED FOR THE MONTH WAS 10.1 MPH. THE 8TH GARNERED ALL THE TOP WIND HONORS. IT WAS THE BREEZIEST DAY (A DAY LONG AVERAGE OF 17.4 MPH)... HAD THE HIGHEST 2 MINUTE WIND (35 MPH FROM THE SOUTHWEST) AND THE PEAK GUST (45 MPH FROM THE SOUTHWEST).

South Carolina:

Charleston - Temperatures were somewhat below normal for the month of April.  There were 11 days with minimum temperatures of 50 degrees or below, including 38 degrees for the monthly minimum the morning of the 5th and 9th.  These were 13 and 14 degrees below the normal low temperatures for those dates, respectively.  Another chilly morning occurred on the 27th, with a low of 47 degrees, or
10 degrees below the normal min.  Another notable event for the month was the lack of rainfall.  April is the driest of the spring months in Charleston, with a normal reading of 2.67 inches.  In April 2000, Charleston only received 1.78".  This is the third consecutive month of below normal precipitation, and the 5th out of the last 6 months (January was about 1/2 inch above normal).  No records were set in Charleston during April.  - notes from Eleanor

Florence - FAA Florence recorded a new record daily precip record on the 17th (0.84")  surpassing the previous record of 0.78" .  The average wind speed was 8.8 mph.  The mean temp was 1.9^o below the norm while precip was 0.23" below the norm.

Greenville-Spartanburg - The monthly temps  averaged 2.2^o  below normal while total rainfall was 0.84" above normal.   The average wind speed was 8.6 MPH.  - from NWS GSP

North Myrtle Beach - NWS ILM reported a mean temp 1.2^o below the norm while precip was 0.27" above the norm.

Nearby Cities:

The Tri-cities/Bristol area noted temps averaging 2.3 degrees below the norm with total rainfall 1/4" in excess of the norm.  For the year, rainfall is running 8/10ths inch below normal.