Insider Blog: April ends up warmer and wetter than normal
Mother Nature gave us a little bit of everything this month, from record snowfall, to later than normal frost, to temperatures near 90 degrees.
We started off the month chilly, with active weather during the first full week of April. Severe weather rolled through the area on April 7, bringing wind damage to Benton County.
Toward the third week of the month, we had a brief snap back to winter with lows in the upper 20s and low 30s, damaging unprotected new plants or trees. We had 4 days with lows at or below 32 degrees. On the 20th, Columbia tied the record for the latest measurable snowfall, picking up 1.3" at the airport.
Our coolest morning was April 1 with a low of 26 degrees, and our warmest day was 87 degrees on April 26. We ended up with 5.31" of rain, which is 0.82" above normal. The most rain in one day fell on April 28 with 1.63", and we ended up with 12 days of measurable rainfall.
Looking ahead to May, we can expect temperatures to be near normal, with an average high of 71 degrees on May 1, and ending the month with an average high of 79. Precipitation looks to be slightly above average. Normal precipitation for May in Columbia is 4.98".
