Warmest April on Record

By Russell Russ
It was Norfolk’s warmest April in the last 79 years, which is as far back as our records go. The second warmest April was in 1945, with an average mean temperature of 48.7 degrees. Five of the top ten warmest Aprils since 1932 have taken place in the last nine years. Windsor Locks, Conn. reported April 2010 as its warmest in 105 years.
The month’s high temperature of 85 degrees was observed on April 7, and the low of 31 was observed on April 14. There were two record high temperatures set this month, the 72 degree day on April 2 beat the 1934 record of 70 and the high of 85 degrees on April 7 beat the 1991 record of 81. There were only two days at or below 32 degrees at the weather station in April. The average mean temperature was 49.4, 6.5 degrees above normal.
The total precipitation recorded for the month was 1.94 inches, 2.41 inches below normal. With only two days with light flurries, there was no measurable snowfall this month, making it 6.3 inches below normal. It is unusual, but not unheard of, to have no snow during the month of April.
The snowfall total for this winter season, October through April, is now at 73.3 inches, 17.5 inches below normal. For the calendar year, the snowfall total of 53.2 inches is 12.7 inches below normal. Our total precipitation of 18.95 inches since January is 2.42 inches above normal. The precipitation has come, but with record warmth in both March and April, it just hasn’t been in the form of snow very often.
Weather observations are recorded at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2 SW, by the Great Mountain Forest Corporation.