When it comes to the weather, any day in April can be April fool蘑菇视频 Day
Jack Hughes
Submitted photo
Pictured from left are Owen, Gracie and Loren Hughes proudly showing the fish each caught while fishing at Big Sandy Creek in Wharton Township recently.
A sudden thunderstorm, surprise snowstorm, temperatures in the teens or in the 90s is all possible in April. When we look at what is normal for April, we usually think of warming days and blooming flowers; however, April has played some surprising tricks on us when it comes to our weather.
Average temperatures for the month are 64 degrees for the afternoon high and 42 for the morning low. On any given day, the temperature can be 20 degrees higher or lower than these averages and the extremes can reach even 10 degrees beyond that.
April 8 1982, was one of those mornings when our area saw a low temperature of 15 degrees and in the mountains single digits were reported. Cold temperatures of this nature can be extremely damaging to emerging plants and shrubs. Conversely on the other side of the fence the reading of 93 degrees on April 29 1986, was too much heat too early and again can move plants ahead of their natural cycle. That April day was warm enough for folks to take a dip in area streams and lakes to cool down a bit. Waters at this time of the year can also fool us as many times they are still in the upper 40s and low 50s and can present a shock to the human system. The all time record for cold in April in Pennsylvania was -5 degrees on April 1, 1923, in Corry.
Cold air still flowing out of Canada and colliding with warm moist air that has arrived early from the Gulf of Mexico can produce some severe thunderstorms over Southwestern Pennsylvania in April and even an occasional tornado is possible, but tornadoes are usually more likely in May and June. That same interaction of cold and warm moist air has produced some memorable snowstorms across the area in April. On April 28, 1928, an almost unbelievable late season snowstorm dumped 39 inches of snow on nearby Somerset and 8 inches in Uniontown. Mountains east of Uniontown had over 25 inches of heavy wet snow that, according to the Morning Herald, 鈥渄emoralized traffic鈥� in the mountains
With just an inch of snow falling in March across our area, it is easy to forget the snows of April. Just two years ago in April of 2018, the area experienced 5 days with snow in April and 8 days in the mountains. We had several mornings with snow covered and slippery roads.
After a few nice mild days in late March and early April, the weather looks like it is going to take a turn to the colder side with below normal temperatures over the next week or so. We could even see a touch of snow. We should see temperatures in the mid-60s during this period and it looks like we will be in the 50s and some 40s for daytime highs.
On a positive note, it was no April fool蘑菇视频 joke when we learned on this past Tuesday that opening day of trout fishing would begin on April 7. Our grand-children Gracie and Owen had a good day in spite of the rainy chilly day and took home a nice catch for dinner. Sometimes life isn鈥檛 about waiting for the sunny day to fish, it is about fishing in the rain with your dad when the opportunity presents itself.