NCDC / Climate Monitoring / Climate of 2002 / April / Search / Help
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Climate of 2002 - April |
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Use these links to access detailed analyses of Global and U.S. data.
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Contents of This Report:
The animated visible satellite image to the left shows the storm which spawned an F4 tornado in Maryland on 28 April. The storm caused most damage in the small town of La Plata and led to several deaths and dozens of injuries.
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Significant Weather Events
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More details can be found on these events throughout this page and in Other Notable Weather events.
Temperature Analysis
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April 2002 temperatures were above normal for much of the contiguous U.S. Much above average temperatures were evident in 13 states, with 3 states (New Mexico, North and South Carolina) having a record high average for the month. A time series shows April temperatures for North Carolina. Since the beginning of 2001, North Carolina has had only 4 months with below normal temperatures as can be seen from a graph of temperature departures for the state. North Carolina monthly temperatures have been above average for each of the last 6 months. |
| A map of average temperatures for April broken down by climate division shows that much of the statewide record warmth in New Mexico is concentrated in a band of record divisional temperatures in the center of the state. Similarly, much of South Carolina's record warmth was dominated by the coastal divisions. A time series of division 7 (encompassing Charleston and Beaufort along the southern coast) shows April temperatures. Temperatures approaching those in April 2002 for this division and month, have not been experienced since the mid-1940s. |
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April temperatures in the Southeast region were much above the long term mean (3rd warmest in the 1895-2002 record). Although there has been a general decrease in April temperature since the 1940s, the last 2 Aprils have been above average.
Temperature time series for all regions can be found in the table below. |
Precipitation Analysis
| Nationwide, April precipitation was slightly below average, though there was much regional variability. Drought conditions continue to worsen in areas of the country such as southern California, central North Carolina, and the Colorado plains (see divisional precipitation map). The last 6 months have been driest on record for the state of Colorado. Further information on Colorado's drought can be obtained here, and a complete drought analysis for the nation is available on NCDC's drought pages. |
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In contrast, April 2002 was the second wetter than average April in a row for the East North Central region. There has been a general trend of increasing April precipitation for this region since the 1930s.
Precipitation time series for all regions can be found in the table below. |
| The growing season runs from March through September for the Primary corn and soybean belt. Preliminary data indicate that precipitation was near average for the second month of the growing season - the second near-average April in a row. |  |
Regional Temperature and Precipitation Time Series
View a temperature or precipitation time series for any region from the table below. Click on a region's precipitation or temperature rank to view the 1895-2002 April time series.
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Historical precipitation and temperature ranking maps are also available courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center.
Additional information about current climate anomalies can be found at the respective Web Pages of the Southern Regional Climate Center, Western Regional Climate Center, Midwest Regional Climate Center, Southeast Regional Climate Center, High Plains Regional Climate Center, and the Northeast Regional Climate Center. |
Other Notable Weather Events - April
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SPRING STORMS On April 28, up to 20 inches (50.8 cm) of snow fell in parts of Wisconsin. More than 40,000 people were without power as a result of the snow which was from the northern edge of a storm, the center of which was in the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys. This spring storm produced tornadoes, hail and heavy rain and led to several deaths A tornado killed at least one person in Fairfield, Illinois on 21 April. The tornado was rated F3 on the Fujita scale, and winds were estimated to have reached 158-206 mph (AP). Tornadoes also led to many injuries in Missouri on the 24th. Later in the month, another tornado tore through La Plata, Maryland on the 28th April. Initially rated as an F5, it was later downgraded to F4 status and led to at least 3 deaths and 93 injuries (AP). The tornado left a 10 mile stretch of damage through the small town. A small but intense storm led to heavy rain and flooding in the town of Albany, Texas (about 30 miles north of Abilene) 25 April. A 19 year old woman was swept away in the floods. Officially, 8.3 inches of rain fell in the town, but reports of 10-12 inches were common (Abilene Reporter-News). WILDFIRES Fires continued to burn at the beginning of the month in many southern states, especially the Southeast. However, the serious drought in the west and southwest led to a series of wildfire outbreaks during April including in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico (AP). |
Questions?
For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:
Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: questions@ncdc.noaa.gov
For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:
Catherine Godfrey
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Catherine.S.Godfrey@noaa.gov
Jay Lawrimore
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Jay.Lawrimore@noaa.gov
NCDC / Climate Monitoring / Climate of 2002 / April / Search / Help
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