April 1-3, 2001

Signs of spring finally arrived in the Midwest in the first three days of April 2001. A stationary boundary between cool dry air and warm moist air formed along the southern and southwestern edges of the region on April 2. Considerable rain fell on April 2-3 in southern Missouri, Illinois, and western Kentucky (Figure 5). However, the majority of the Midwest was still quite dry during the same period, except for northern Wisconsin. Snow packs still persisted in much of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Michigan, although the pack in Iowa was pretty much gone (Figure 6). Some minor flooding had occurred along rivers in both Minnesota and Iowa with the snow melt. Cooler than normal temperatures during most of the last week kept the runoff in check in the southern two-thirds of Minnesota and Wisconsin, allowing for a slow melt that did not initially cause damaging flooding. Temperatures were 2-6°F below normal in the southern Midwest, while they were actually considerably above normal along the northern tier.