Midwest Weekly Highlights - April 1-9, 2013

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Near to Below Normal Precipitation Across Majority of Midwest

April kicked off with near to below normal precipitation across much of the region (Figure 1). Largest precipitation departures of only 0% to 25% of normal were found across southeastern Missouri, central and southern Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and northwest Minnesota. A majority of this region only received anywhere from 0" to 0.2" of precipitation throughout the week (Figure 2). Areas that received closer to 1" to 2" of precipitation were above average (125% to 200% of normal) for the week. These areas included western Iowa, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the tri-state intersection of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. There were several daily precipitation records set during the first nine days of the month, most of which fell on April 8th and 9th.

Locations in the northern Midwest received snowfall during the first nine days of April, with totals of 2" to 8" across northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and northern Michigan (Figure 3), which is above normal for this time of year (Figure 4). Much the of the snow was reported on April 7th, with the previous and following day also reporting snowfall, in addition to the 9th (Figure 5). This snowfall resulted in some snowfall records across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Below Normal Temperatures with Pocket of Near Normal in Central Midwest

Below normal average temperatures were dominant in all Midwest states except Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana during the first nine days of April (Figure 6). The largest departures of 9°F to 15°F below normal were in northwestern Minnesota. Much of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, southern Iowa, and northern Kentucky experienced near to slightly above normal temperatures. With temperatures averaging 60°F to 65°F, maximum temperatures across central portions of the region were 2°F to 5°F above average (Figure 7). However, minimum temperatures were below normal for much of the region, with the exception of southern Missouri and portions of southern Illinois (Figure 8). Several daily temperature records were set, many of which were record lows during the first six days of April and record highs from April 7th to 9th.
 

Severe Weather

There were large hail and high wind reports on April 7th to 9th throughout portions of the Midwest. Storms on April 7th brought hail reports to Missouri, with golf ball sized hail (1.75") reported in several counties (Missouri counties). Hail was reported in Iowa and Ohio on April 8th. April 9th brought high wind and hail reports to Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The largest hail report on the 9th was 2" in Charter Oak, Iowa (Crawford County).

Drought Update

As of April 9th, moderate (D1), severe (D2), and extreme (D3) drought were still persistent across western portions of the Midwest (Figure 9). Drought is most widespread in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, with portions of western Missouri still being affected as well. Fortunately, exceptional drought (D4) is now no longer present in the region.

-MW-