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2013 April

Houston Weekend Storm and U.S. Record Point Rainfalls

Last Saturday evening (April 27th) the Houston area was swamped by as much as 8” of rain, most of which fell in just a couple of hours. The city’s official weather site at the Houston’s Hobby Airport measured 3.07” in one hour with an amazing 0.69” of this falling in one 3-minute period according to the site’s METAR reports. Also in this blog is a table of record point U.S. rainfalls for various periods of time.

weatherhistorian, • 7:58 PM GMT on April 29, 2013

Amazing Weather Photographs: Part 2

Weather news is a little slow this Friday so I thought I would I would post another selection (this time 10) of amazing weather-related photographs. This is sort of a follow up to a popular blog I posted on this same subject last October. Some of the images were taken by professionals and others just a lucky snap shot. They are arranged in no particular order.

weatherhistorian, • 9:32 PM GMT on April 26, 2013

A Cold and Snowy April in the Central U.S.

Last night (April 24th) the temperature fell to 20°F in Amarillo, Texas, the coldest reading so late in the season on record for the site. Snow in the upper Midwest and Plains has broken all-time monthly records at Duluth, Minnesota and Rapid City, South Dakota. It has been a wild month weather-wise for the central U.S. with numerous extremes for cold, snow, and precipitation having been set.

weatherhistorian, • 8:42 PM GMT on April 24, 2013

Minneapolis sets First Record Daily Low in Almost 9 Years

It has been a near-record cold April so far for many locations in the Upper Midwest including Minneapolis, Minnesota where a daily record low temperature of 21°F (-6.1°C) was registered this past weekend on April 20th. What was truly remarkable, however, was that it was the first new daily record low recorded in the city in almost nine years (since August 21, 2004).

weatherhistorian, • 8:17 PM GMT on April 22, 2013

Summary of April 15-20 Storm

Weather system ‘Yogi’ (as designated by The Weather Channel) had something for everyone this past week: flooding rain, tornadoes, record snowfalls, and record temperatures. Historically it was not that significant, but that mattered little to those affected. Here is a brief summary of the storm’s most extreme manifestations.

weatherhistorian, • 9:18 PM GMT on April 20, 2013

Quick Update on Illinois Precipitation Totals

As Jeff Masters reported this morning (April 18) a significant rain event has brought river and flash flooding to many locations in northern Illinois, especially in and around Chicago. Here is a short recap of some of the precipitation totals.

weatherhistorian, • 7:39 PM GMT on April 18, 2013

Deep Freeze in Alaska

April has so far been one of the coldest such on record for Fairbanks, Alaska as we near the month’s halfway point. Cold and snow have dominated the weather across the state recently.

weatherhistorian, • 8:43 PM GMT on April 14, 2013

March 2013 Global Weather Extremes Summary

March was notable for unseasonable cold weather in Europe and record heat in parts of Africa and Australia. Heavy snowstorms struck the U.K., northern France, eastern Europe, Russia and the central U.S. and northeast. The world temperature extremes for both cold and heat came within 0.5°C (0.9°F) of reaching their respective March all-time records (in Antarctica and South Africa).

weatherhistorian, • 9:59 PM GMT on April 11, 2013

Incredible Temperature Gradient in Southern/Central Plains

A sharp temperature gradient is occurring over the southern and central Great Plains today (Tuesday, April 9th) as a late season arctic cold front sweeps across the region. Temperatures range more than 60°F (33°C) from the eastern portions of Nebraska and Kansas to their respective western portions.

weatherhistorian, • 7:34 PM GMT on April 09, 2013

Record April Snowstorms

Earlier this week Syracuse, New York reported a 10.5” snow accumulation on Tuesday April 2d. This was said to be its greatest calendar-day accumulation on record for the month of April (although this was based on a POR that began in just 1950). The previous record was 7.1” on April 4, 1971. I thought I’d take a look at other record April snow events that have occurred in the past.

weatherhistorian, • 8:22 PM GMT on April 05, 2013

Flooding Rainfall in Buenos Aires results in at least 54 deaths

Torrential rainfall associated with heavy thunderstorms resulted in flash floods that have killed at least 41 in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina. Press reports claimed that up to 400 mm (16”) of rain deluged the town of La Plata in the space of just two to three hours early on Wednesday morning (April 3rd).

weatherhistorian, • 8:00 PM GMT on April 03, 2013

Driest First Quarter of Year on Record for Much of California

There was no ‘miracle March’ for rain lovers in California this year following an exceptionally dry January and February. The dry weather continued through March resulting in the driest first three months of the year on record for San Francisco and other sites across the state.

weatherhistorian, • 8:24 PM GMT on April 01, 2013