Midwest Weekly Highlights - April 1-9, 2005

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Spring Weather Spreads Across Midwest

Mild spring weather became established across the Midwest the first nine days of April, and by the end of the period most parts of the Midwest had experienced at least one day with temperatures 70F or higher.  The proverbial April showers were few and far between, however, and dryness that began in March in some parts of the Midwest persisted into April.

The eastern portion of the Midwest was the coolest relative to the rest of the region this period, but still above normal.  Temperature this period ranged from 4F above average in eastern Ohio to 13F above normal in northwestern Minnesota (Figure 1).  Much of the region received much below normal precipitation this period (Figure 2).  The exceptions were the far southern Midwest, from southwestern Missouri through southern Kentucky and eastern Ohio;  a small portion of northwestern Missouri and southwestern Iowa; and east-central Minnesota into northwestern Wisconsin.


Winter Leaves Northeast Ohio an April Fools Surprise

On the morning of April first a low pressure system was located in central Mississippi (Figure 3).  Over the next 24 hours this low rapidly intensified and by the morning of April 2 had moved to southwestern Pennsylvania (Figure 4).  Strong east to northeast winds on the north side of the low tapped moisture over Lake Erie while high pressure centered over James Bay provided cold air.  The result was heavy lake effect snow over northeast Ohio and adjacent portions of Pennsylvania.  The official snowfall for Cleveland's Hopkins Airport was 6.6 inches, but by the storm ended on April 3 almost two feet of snow accumulated at some locations in Ashtabula County northeast of Cleveland (Figure 5).  The heavy wet snow combined with some freezing rain and high winds brought down trees and power lines throughout the region, knocking out power to more than 166,000 customers.  Officials declared a state of emergency in Geauga County early on April 3 because of poor road conditions and downed power lines.  Portions of some Ohio highways were closed despite road crews working around the clock to keep roads cleared.  The Geauga County Maple Festival slated for the weekend was canceled as the heavy wet snow crushed tents and collapsed an entertainment stage set up for the event.  A 20 foot  by 60 foot billboard in Elyria, OH reportedly came down "like a big fly swatter" from the snow and wind.

The 6.6 inches at Cleveland Hopkins Airport brought the seasonal total to 105.5 inches, a new record for the snowiest season.  The old record was 101.1 inches in 1995-1996.  Here are some snowfall totals from this storm:

Location	County	Snowfall
Thompson 3S	Geauga	24.8
Pierpont 2SE	Ashtabula	23.0
Thompson 5SW	Geauga	22.9
Conneaut I-90	Ashtabula	22.0
Hambden Twp	Geauga	20.5
Chardon	Geauga	17.0
Geneva	Ashtabula	16.9
Ashtabula 3S	Ashtabula	16.8

Storm Brings Rain North, South

A low pressure system dropped out of the Central Plains on April 5 and wound itself up over Oklahoma on April 6.  There were two main areas of precipitation with this system, one across east-central Minnesota and western Wisconsin ahead of the advancing warm air, and the other in the southern Midwest close to the upper level low (Figure 6).  The closed circulation of this system meant slow travel through the Midwest, and it was April 8 before the system had cleared the region.  Heavy rain combined with melting of the remaining snow cover in northwestern Wisconsin prompted the issuance of flood watches for northwestern Wisconsin on April 6.  Ice was still present on many rivers and streams, and potential ice jams also added to the flood potential.  Unfortunately, much of the middle Midwest missed out on significant rainfall.  A band of showers moved northward through the region, but yielded amounts generally less than a tenth of an inch.  Further south, amounts of 0.50 to 1.00 inches were reported from southwestern Missouri through the Ohio Valley as the storm trundled east.   The strong southerly flow produced by the low pulled warm air as far north as Cleveland, which set a record high of 78F on April 6, breaking the old record of 77F in 1991.  This was only three days after two feet of snow piled up in northeastern Ohio.  Mansfield, OH also set a record high with a reading of 76F, breaking the old record of 75 in 1991.  Jackson, KY tied a record high of 82F, first set in 1991.

High pressure over the Great lakes brought clearing skies to most of the region on April 8. By the start of the weekend on April 9 strong southerly winds returned to the region, helping temperatures climb well into the 70s as far north as the Canadian border (Figure 7, Unisys).