APRIL 2020 MONTHLY SUMMARY, SUMMARY STATISTICS AND DATA FOR WEST ROCKVILLE MARYLAND
MONTHLY SUMMARY
April 2020 was cooler and wetter than normal. My maximum temperature average (61.9°) was 3.4° below normal but my minimum temperature average (43.6°) was still a bit above normal (+0.7°), resulting in the mean temperature average of 52.8° to be 1.3° below normal. My total precipitation of 6.79″ was 3.50” above the normal March value for my station of 3.29”. There were 17 days with measurable precipitation, distributed fairly evenly throughout the month but with the maximum amounts in the middle and end of the month. . There were two very wet days, the greatest daily amount of 2.89” fell on the 13th, with 1.34” falling on the last day of the month. Those two days (4.23”) daily values accounted for about 62% of the monthly precipitation total. Unfortunately no snow fell during the entire month, effectively ending the 2019-2020 snow season with a meager total of 3.0 inches falling the entire winter.
There were several chilly periods during the month, roughly coinciding with the month’s frequent rainy periods. The largest, most comprehensive period of cool max temperatures was between the 14th and 28th (57.6° average). Six of the 9 total 30s minimum temperature days also occurred during this period. Seven days (including 4 in a row between the 5th and the 8th) featured the only days with maximum values in the 70s, highlighted by the highest reading of the month of 76.2° on the stormy 13th.
Severe weather consisted of 4 days with winds gusting over 50 MPH (9-10, 13, 21) and a severe thunderstorm with the highest PWG of the month (62 MPH at 1412 during the height of the storm) and flooding rains that fell horizontally at times. It was literally a blizzard of rain! There was a total of 13 days with a PWG of 30 MPH or greater, while the average monthly daily PWG was 29!!
The highest dew point temperature reached during the month (the stormy 13th) was 70°, also the warmest and wettest day of the month.. Only two other days during the month had 60° max daily dew points, on the 8th and the very wet 30th. The lowest dew point temperature value was reached on the 22nd with an 18° reading, which coincided with my lowest relative humidity percentage value of the month (23%). With the frequent rains throughout the month, fire danger was minimal the entire month.
April had 12 cloudy days, 14 partly cloudy days, and only 4 clear/sunny days. There were 367 heating degree days and 0.5 cooling degree days during the month. There were 9 foggy days, 13 windy days, and 2 days with thunder.
My maximum temperature frequencies included 7 days between 70° and 79°, 11 days between 60° and 69°, 11 days between 50° and 59°, and one in the 40s. On the minimum temperature frequency side of things, there was 9 days in the 30s, 14 days between 40° and 49°, and 7 days of 50° or above. The coldest daily maximum temperature day was 49.4° on the 10th while the warmest daily minimum temperature day of 55.2° was reached on the 8th.
The diurnal range daily monthly average was 18.4° (- 4.0°). Our greatest daily range of temperature was 28.6° on the 19th (63.0°- 34.4°). We had a total of 16 days with daily ranges above 20°. Our lowest range of temperature was 6.4° on the somewhat rainy and cloudy 24th (56.9°- 50.5°). There were a total of 5 days with diurnal temperature ranges of less than 10° during the month, one more than in March.
April 2020 finished up a virtually snowless and quite mild 2019-2020 meteorological winter/early spring period. There were some close calls with a few days of flurries in the region but nothing observed at my location. My meager seasonal snowfall of 3.0” was quite depressing and probably about 15% of normal. There never was any real ice formation on local ponds.
My new Davis Vantage Vue console will be installed as soon as the all-clear travel ban is lifted. I have been using Marty’s spare VP2 console with no problems over the past few months. I also need to do a firmware update on the weatherlink software along with ithe installation of my new Dell computer, which needs to get my Thunderbird email program loaded on to. I am not sure where Marty and I can find the time to do all this and much more, especially with this current coronavirus pandemic we are under. All OK on that “front” here right now thank goodness, and hope it is on your end too! I am still actively sheltering in place these days as I am sure you all are doing also.
Excel-derived PDF of my daily April 2020 data :
SUMMARY STATISTICS
Average high temperature 61.9° (- 3.4°)
Average low temperature 43.6° (+ 0.7°)
Mean temperature 52.8° (- 1.3°)
Precipitation 6.79″ (+ 3.50“)
Greatest daily amount (date) 2.89″ (13)
Greatest storm total (dates) 3.37” (12-15)
2020 year-to-date precipitation total 15.69″ (+ 3.00”)
Total monthly snowfall 0.0”
Seasonal snowfall 3.0”
High temperature for the month (date) 76.4° (13)
Low temperature for the month (date) 33.7° (17)
Highest barometric pressure (date) 30.34” (17)
Lowest barometric pressure (date) 29.28” (9)
Peak wind gust (date/direction): 62 (13 from the NW)
(USG data across the street)
Heating degree days for the month: 367
Cooling degree days for the month: 0.5
Greatest diurnal range (date): 28.6° (19)
Least diurnal range (date) 6.4° (24)
Number of days:
Fog 9
Windy 13 (PWG => 30 MPH)
Snow 0
Thunder 2
Cloudy 12
Partly Cloudy 14
Sunny/Clear 4
Max temp ≥ 70° 7
Min temp <= 32° 0
Precip ≥ 0.01” 17