April showers and May flowers
Most years, precipitation across Southwestern Pennsylvania in April becomes more showery as opposed to winter’s day after day of dreary steady light rains.
This past week we saw our share of those showers as the month started off with a stalled weather front across our area giving ample rounds of showers, but most days skies did brighten for at least a few hours, usually in the afternoon, before another round of showers moved through.
By late Wednesday many places had accumulated between 3.5 and 4 inches of rain and flooding was reported throughout much of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Average rainfall for the entire month in Uniontown is 3.77 inches, so it appears that a wet month is in store as we have already exceeded our normal for the entire month. Those showers should provide ample water for the initial needs of flowers, bushes and trees. The next couple of weeks should see an explosion of spring growth across the landscape.
Along with the showers, Mother Nature will provide plenty of sunshine as days in April begin with sunrise and sunset at 7:04 and 7:43 and end the month at 6:37 am and 8:12. This additional daylight provides the energy that takes our average temperature on the first of the month from a low of 36 to 45 by month’s end.
Afternoons start out at 58 degrees and climb to 71 by the end of the month. Records for April are a low of 15 and a high of 93. Eighties are possible on any April day but usually hold off until later in the month. Nineties usually hold off until June and have never occurred before the 19th of April.
It can still snow on any day in April and our average is 2 inches. Way back in 1928 on the 28th an intense, heavy, wet snowstorm engulfed all of Southwestern Pennsylvania leaving the city of Uniontown with 8 inches. The water content of the snow was so heavy that it also set the record for precipitation at 2.2 inches which means that over 20 inches of snow fell in the city, but, the ground being so warm, a lot of it melted as it fell.
In the mountains just east of the city it was a different story with 20 to 30 inches accumulating and the city of Somerset recorded 36 inches in town with reports of 40 inches on the high mountains. Reports in the Uniontown Evening Standard stated that “traffic in the mountains was demoralized” due to the heavy wet snow. Many were stranded and travel was not recommended.
Looking ahead, the Climate Prediction Center is calling for April to see above normal temperatures and our rainfall to be above normal after the heavy showers of the past week.
This should be great weather for the arrival of those May flowers. Don’t forget that the safe planting dates for our city gardens are early May and rural and outlying areas; it is more towards the middle of the month with deep valleys and the mountains more towards the end of May.
The months of May and June are usually truly spectacular across our region as the chill of spring is gone and the heat of summer is still to come.