National Overview - April 2006

April:

• April temperatures were record warm for the nation with all states near or above their long-term means. For information on temperature records during the month, please go to NCDC's Extremes page.
• Precipitation was near average for the contiguous US with dryness occurring in the South and above average precipitation in the West. For more information on drought during April, please visit the U.S. Drought page.

• Indices used to determine the state of ENSO indicate the presence of a weak La Niña during the last few months. Sea Surface Temperatures were cooler than average across the eastern equatorial Pacific during April. To see the latest NOAA advisory and typical impacts of a La Niña or El Niño episode for the U.S., go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. For an in-depth analysis of the current conditions see NCDC's ENSO Monitoring page.

• April 2006 ranked as the warmest April in the 1895 to present record, or near the long-term mean. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 56.5°F (13.6°C), which was 4.5°F (2.5°C) above the 1901-2000 (20th century) mean.
• April 2006 had near average precipitation, nationally, ranking 45th wettest.
• For the last 3 months temperature was much above average and ranked as the 16th warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature for February-April was 45.4°F (7.4°C) which was 2.3°F (1.3°C) above the 1901-2000 mean.
• February-April had below average precipitation, ranking 24th driest in the last 112 years.
• The May 2005-April 2006 temperature was much above average and ranked as the 2nd warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 54.9°F (12.7°C) which was 2.1°F (1.2°C) above the 20th century mean.
• Precipitation was near average for May-April, ranking 52nd driest for the last 12 months based on a record of 111 such periods.

• April 2006 temperatures ranked record warm for 2 states and near to much warmer than average for all other contiguous states.
• Alaska temperature was slightly cooler than average for April at 0.3°F (0.5°C) below the long-term mean.
• April was much drier than average for Colorado and much wetter than average for 4 western states.
  
• The 3-month period, February-April, was near to much warmer than average for all contiguous US states.
• February-April was record dry for 2 mid-Atlantic states and drier or much drier than average for all of the eastern seaboard. Two western states were much wetter than average.
• May 2005-April 2006 was warmer or much warmer than average for much of the nation, with record warmth for 6 states and only Georgia remaining near average.
• The last 12 months had a mixed precipitation pattern across the country. There were 9 states that were much wetter than average, including 2 record wet states, and there were 4 states across the southern US that were much drier than average.

  
  See NCDC's Monthly Extremes web-page for weather and climate records for the month of April.