MONTHLY SUMMARY: APRIL 1999 UPDATED: 5/25/99 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A great variety of weather over the area during April. Temperatures averaged near normal with precip across the region on both sides of normal. Sections of western and northern Virginia continued rather dry. Virginia precip was generally below normal while the Carolinas saw above average amounts. (Visited Winchester, Virginia May 21st-23rd and found vegetation in that locale showing a deficiency in precip. While I was there, however, two rain-filled thunderstorms rolled through on the 22nd during mid-afternoon and early evening, revitalizing the area.) Please take note of the individual reports for the month as they best reflect the great variations in our region's weather during April. Will try to get a stamp update done sometime this summer. Best procedure regarding stamps is to simply send one 33 cent stamp per month along with your data form. For those of you sending data via the Internet, I still need the stamp unless you notify me to send no mail report. Keep in mind that the mail report includes pictures and graphics normally not placed online. The North Carolina "Tornadocane" On the evening of April 15, 1999, one of the most bizarre and unusual supercell thunderstorms ever observed roared across southeastern North Carolina. A report from Intellicast's Dr. Dewpoint is included this month. NOTES FROM "AROUND THE LEAGUE"- Annandale - April, according to Lowell, was dry and near average in temperature. The temperature average was in excess of the norm by 0.53 degree while the precip total was the least in April since 1995 with a departure of -0.91". No major weather events here but a hail storm just west of here on the 23rd. Between 4:30 and 5:00 PM, Lowell drove into hail near George Mason University. He adds: "The size of the hailstones was at least the size of quarters and fell with intensity enough that they accumulated to the point that they whitened the ground. Even with the loud noise of the hailstones hitting the car, you could detect the crunch of the ice beneath the tires. There was little wind associated with the hail, which was fortunate. The wide area affected was a little surprising to me and the hail was intense enough that I could detect evidence of the hailstorm all the way to Centreville after traveling through the storm. Near Centreville, I stopped and examined some of the hailstones and many were perfectly spherical but some of the larger diameters had unusual platelet shape that were nearly a half-inch thick but an inch and a quarter across (larger diameter than the spherical stones but thinner.) Also, it was interesting that the hail was intense enough in some areas that it knocked enough of the young foliage from the trees onto the road such that the road literally was green except for the tracks of tires. It created a noticeable odor from the leaves being crushed. Also, the hail accumulated enough that it cooled the air at the surface below the dew point and created a ground fog that was no more than 25 feet above the open fields. The fog was thicker in areas near open fields as compared to area covered by trees. As the fog drifted across the road, visibility varied, cut at times to less than 100 feet. No hail fell at my home station and I felt fortunate to have witnessed such an unusual weather event." Arlington - NWS WBC notes April "rode the straight and narrow this year"! There were no new records set an National Airport. The majority of days within the month consistently saw highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Quite a few days had measurable rain but it was light on most occasions. The one major event of the month was a thunderstorm on the afternoon of the 23rd that moved through western suburbs of the city, only grazing the airport. The storm produced extensive hail along its track. Bridgewater - Clayton sends these notes on April: The average temperature was 3 degrees above normal. The last part of the month was quite cold, windy, and dry. There were several mornings with frost. The total rainfall for the month was 1.21 inches below normal. For the year, the precipitation is slightly below normal. It hasn't been a good spring for gardens because of the cold, dry weather. Things in my garden are almost at a stand-still. Hope, we get some rain soon, but the forecasts are not encouraging. Falls Church - Erica reports below average rainfall and temperatures. There were 10 days with showers but they didn't amount to much. The pollen count was extremely high for the area with many days in the 400 range! As an allergy sufferer, Erica was able to confirm this! Fredericksburg - Ken sends these comments about April: A very dry month here with only 0.76" of rainfall. Cool mornings and warm afternoons were the rule. The average range of daily high and low temps was 28 degrees. On the 22nd, the temperature rose from a morning low of 40 to an afternoon high of 90 degrees, which was also the month's high temperature. Hampton - Dave notes that April was a very mild month with only a few interruptions in a fairly tranquil pattern. New record highs of 89 (8th) and 88 (9th) were set as well as a tied low max of 55 on the 30th. Some checking of local records at Langley Field (AFB) indicate the April 30th record goes back to 1936! Strong thunderstorms on the 4th and 9th produced wind gusts of 53 and 64 MPH, respectively. Herndon - Russ' April notes: A severe thunderstorm on April 23rd brought 1.25" hail to our area causing damage to cars, houses, plants, etc. Hail that large is unusual for this region. The hail lasted about 5 minutes. I saw my insurance appraiser and had $1,700 worth of damage to my car. Areas just 5 miles to the south and west of me had hail almost the size of baseballs, according to people I work with from that area. They not only had damage to their cars, but to the aluminum and vinyl siding on their houses. One man said a hailstone actually punched a hole through his bedroom and his wife put it in the freezer. New Market - Joyce says the month has been very windy. The temps for the month have been near normal with precip just « inch below the normal. Norfolk - NWS AKQ (Wakefield) reported Norfolk Airport's average monthly temperature was 1.0 degree above normal. Precip was 0.60" above normal. The year-to-date rainfall is 1.22" below the norm. The average wind speed here was 9.4 MPH. Portsmouth - The month was just above the norm in temperatures (0.5 degree) while precip was 86% (-0.49") of normal. Meanwhile, the average wind speed was 5.9 MPH from the northeast. A whole host of new STATION records were set here and are as follows (database since 1976): Date Value Newly established 4 85 maximum temp 7 60 maximum minimum temp 11 1.39 daily precip 23 87 maximum temp 25 40 minimum temp 28 58 minimum high temp 29 52 minimum high temp 30 55 minimum high temp Again, these are Portsmouth STATION records, not official area records. As you can see, the month saw quite cool weather at month's end which continued into early May. Don't recall another month in the database which had as many new station records! Richmond - The mean temp was 0.4 degree above normal while precip was 0.36" below normal. The average wind speed was 7.8 MPH. - from NWS Wakefield (AKQ) Mechanicsville - Strong thunderstorms moved through the area on the 9th at 1830 hours featuring strong winds and sharp lightning. Strong storms moved through again on the 23rd with hail, sharp lightning, and damaging winds producing tree damage. Roanoke - Wendell reported a windy April with below normal rainfall (-1.5"). Temps were 2.6 deg. above normal. No snow nor flurries. Stafford - Danny notes: April finishes 2.52 deg. above normal, precipitation was 1.15" below normal; A couple tastes of summer, with 3 days falling just shy of the 90 deg. mark; Some severe weather on the 23rd, but no hail at my location and not much rainfall; he adds that he has contact email for information at tornado@tidalwave.net His web page takes on a new address at http://all.at/weather Vienna - Robert reports: The average April temperature was just 7/10ths degree in excess of the norm while total precip was 0.73" below normal. Year-to-date precip is running ahead of the norm. Very warm day on the 8th tied his daily record high set previously in 1991. No freezing minimum temperatures were noted. Woodstock - Lauck reports the month was pretty average although a bit warmer and drier than usual. Asheville - The average monthly temperature was 3.3 degrees above normal and the precip total was 0.92" below normal. Monthly average wind speed was 7.4 mph. Brevard - Bob sends these remarks: April was an average "April", the monthly average, 57.7 degrees F, compares with 55.9 for the previous four and 56.3 for the past nine Aprils. Rainfall for the month, 4.28 inches, was about half an inch below "average", but in a month with recorded rainfalls of 8.49 inches in 1998 to 1.54 inches in 1995. Hard to say what to expect in April!!! Charlotte - NWS GSP reported the monthly average temp was 2.7 degrees above normal while total precip was 1.44" above normal. The average wind speed was 7.2 MPH. Greensboro - The average temp for the month was 2.3 degrees above normal while precip was 1.53" above normal. A high minimum temp was set on the 4th and tied on the 9th. A low max temp was set on the 29th and tied on the 30th. - from NWS RDU Raleigh - Bob reports that April was generally a quiet month. Both temps and precip were above normal and the most noteworthy event was the unusually cool, winter like period from the 28th through the 30th. The high on the 29th was only 51, the normal high for early February! Don't forget Bob's Internet site at: http://www.qsl.net/kfymmm Raleigh - The average temp for the month was 2.5 degrees above normal while rainfall was 0.94" above normal. A daily record high temp was set on the 4th and tied on the 8th. Low maximum temps were set on the 29th and 30th. High minimums were set on the 3rd and 23rd. - source: NWS RDU Roxboro - While some cool for April days were noted, the month averaged warmer and wetter than normal. Lots of clouds and pollen. - notes from Merriell Wilmington - NWS ILM notes: Rain and warmth return to the Port City! Above normal temps at the end of the month with the average 3.2 deg. above normal. An 89 deg. reading on the 8th set a record for the date and was the month's high. Other temp records included record warm lows on the 7th (68) and 8th (67) and 9th (69). A record cool high was set on the 30th with a 55 deg. reading. Rainfall was 2.15" above normal. All of this came after a relatively "quiet" 3 weeks of dry weather! Despite the rains, the month saw 73% of possible sunshine. This was the breeziest month since March 1983 and was only the fourth month this decade with an average wind speed above 10 MPH. The month ended with a more winter-like event that a springtime feel. At month's end, winds increased from the interaction of a persistent low off the SC coast combining with high pressure building down the Appalachians. Columbia - The average temperature for the month was 3.4 degrees above normal while rainfall was 0.68" above normal. - from NWS CAE Charleston - Notes from Eleanor: Charleston's temperatures ran nearly 3 degrees above normal, as month of the month was warm. Record high temps were set near mid-month and included: April 8th - 90 at the airport (CHS) with previous record of 88 set in 1948 and 89 at Beaufort with previous record of 86 set in 1934; April 11th - 90 at CHS (previous 84 in 1991) and 88 at Beaufort (previous of 86 set in 1934). The month was very pleasant with few large scale storms. Not much rain was associated with the thunderstorms which occurred on 7 days. As the end of the month approached, an unusually late season (winter, that is!) storm developed off the South Carolina and Georgia coasts. Due to an "omega block" high in the atmosphere, this storm sat and spiraled east of CHS at month's end. It was very cold for this time of year, with cool, raw north winds and record low maximums (or "mini maxs") established. Daily precip record was set at CHS on the 29th with 0.85" (previous 0.62" in 1976). The average wind speed was 10.1 MPH. Greenville-Spartanburg - NWS GSP noted the average monthly temp was 3.1 degrees above normal while rainfall was 0.09" above normal. Ruby - April was generally mild and dry with most rainfall coming around the first and last of the month. (notes from Franklin) Tri-cities - NWS Knoxville, TN reports that the Tri-cities/Bristol area recorded monthly average temps 3.0 degrees above normal with precipitation some 0.83" below normal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATED MEMBERS' E-MAIL ADDRESSES: BRE Bob Keehn Bob_Keehn@citcom.net BRI Clayton Towers Ctowers@rica.net POR Bill Trotter wtrotter@whro.org RAL Bob Woodson woods@pipeline.com CEN Paul Bassett III pbassett@digizen.net WSH David Yowell runamok@runamok.com FCH Erica Page ERICA96661@aol.com RMD Roy Britt rbritt@erols.com NEW Joyce Winfree joywood@shentel.net FRB Ken McKneely mckneelys@email.msn.com STF Danny Jessee tornado@tidalwave.net WOO Lauck Walton jwalton@shentel.net NPN Gary Leonard garleonard@aol.com LKU Joe Bowers jmbiii@mnsinc.com CHS Eleanor Vallier-Talbot Eleanor.Vallier-Talbot@noaa.gov evaltal@wpmedia.com HAM Dave Kessell tccdkessel@yahoo.com VNA Robert Boott boottr@vrinet.com CHW Dave Lesher wxdave@boo.net -----------------------------------------------------------------------------