Thursday, May 01, 2014

April Climate Summary

It was a wintry start to April, with 2.3" of new snow after the first two days. However a lengthy mild stretch had me thinking once again that winter was over. Once again I was wrong. A strong storm system that arrived on the 26th brought easily the rainiest day I have seen thus far in Utah. In its wake, colder air filtered into the region. A weaker shortwave arrived the evening of the 27th into the pre-dawn hours of the 28th, bringing rain changing to wet snow. I measured about 3/4" of wet snow early that morning. Later in the morning, the best lake-effect snow band of the season set up over the central Salt Lake Valley, however it did not reach my house. That band produced mainly graupel and rain, with some snow mixing down. Now that it is May 1st, I want to say winter is finally over now - hopefully the third time of saying that is the charm.

The cool down at the end of the month allowed for a monthly departure of only +1.63°F, as it was closer to +5 heading into the final week of the month. Average high was 58.9°F and average low was 40.7°F. For the first time in the 2013-14 cold season, temperatures at GFK were comparable to those here at the Wasatch Bench. This probably speaks to the fact, that although summers are hotter in Salt Lake City, the elevation difference allows for a slower transition into the warm season than many locations east of the Rockies. I will make sure I enjoy May, because after that it is game on for triple digit high temperatures each day. Having grown up in a warm and humid climate, I am interested to see how my body reacts to a hot and dry climate. I will be working outside a lot this summer, so I guess I should buy sunblock in bulk.

Day CW8826
High
CW8826
Low
CW8826
Mean Temp.
SLC Mean
Departure
Snowfall 12z Snow
Depth
Wasatch Bench
Monthly Snow
1 45 33 39 -1 0.2” 0.5” 0.2
2 45 30 37.5 -2 2.1” 0.5” 2.3
3 49 31 40 -2 0.0” 1” 2.3
4 53 37 45 3 0.0” Trace 2.3
5 49 40 44.5 2 0.0” 0” 2.3
6 49 38 43.5 3 0.0” 0” 2.3
7 57 40 48.5 6 0.0” 0” 2.3
8 70 48 59 13 0.0” 0” 2.3
9 71 53 62 15 0.0” 0” 2.3
10 67 49 58 8 0.0” 0” 2.3
11 72 52 62 12 0.0” 0” 2.3
12 65 53 59 10 0.0” 0” 2.3
13 54 38 46 -4 0.0” 0” 2.3
14 54 30 42 -7 0.0” 0” 2.3
15 65 37 51 5 0.0” 0” 2.3
16 55 38 46.5 -1 0.0” 0” 2.3
17 70 42 56 3 0.0” 0” 2.3
18 69 52 60.5 6 0.0” 0” 2.3
19 68 48 58 8 0.0” 0” 2.3
20 66 52 59 9 0.0” 0” 2.3
21 73 45 59 7 0.0” 0” 2.3
22 71 36 53.5 6 0.0” 0” 2.3
23 50 34 42 -6 0.0” 0” 2.3
24 65 39 52 0 0.0” 0” 2.3
25 63 46 54.5 3 0.0” 0” 2.3
26 47 36 41.5 -9 0.0” 0” 2.3
27 48 37 42.5 -10 0.0” 0” 2.3
28 47 33 40 -11 0.7” 0.5” 2.8
29 51 34 42.5 -10 0.0” 0” 3.0
30 59 40 49.5 -7 0.0” 0” 3.0
















April
2014
58.90 40.70 49.80 1.63 3.0” N/A N/A

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