April 2020 Weather Review: First Cooler Than Average Month of the Year
April was 2.7 degrees below average, making it the first month this year to be chillier than average. It was also the fourth chilliest April of the past 40 years. Even more interesting, this was the first April since 1940 with no highs of 70° or warmer (after three such days in March). In the years since 2000 the warmest reading in April has averaged 85°, but this April's mildest reading was just 68°. Despite this cool warmest reading, the nights weren't as cold as might be expected as the coldest reading, 36°, was three degrees milder than a typical April's coldest temperature. The 32-degree difference between the month's coldest and warmest readings was 20 degrees less than the average difference between the two extremes - the smallest gap of any April on record.
The last sixteen days of the month all had below average mean temperatures, the longest below average streak since March 2018's streak of 22 days. These 16 days were seven degrees below average (seven of the days were ten or more degrees below average). Before this streak started April had been two degrees milder than average (with April 4-8 seven above average).
Although it was the fourth coldest April of the past 40 years, it ranked 63rd among all Aprils going back to 1869. This was due to the fact that Aprils before 1940 were much chillier. (Six of the eight Aprils with no high readings of 70° or warmer occurred between 1873-1884.)
Although April's rainfall, at 4.49", was an average amount, it was enough to make it the rainiest month so far this year. The month also had the year's biggest rainstorm - 1.92" on 4/13 (the day after Easter).
A typical April is 10 to 11 degrees warmer than March, but April 2020 was just 2.4 degrees milder - the third closest of any year. Additionally, April's mildest reading was nine degrees cooler than March's (68° vs. 77°) and its mildest low temperature was one degree cooler than March's (53° vs. 54°).
2020 is just the seventh year in which April, March and February had more precipitation than the month preceding it. This year April had 4.49"; March, 3.78"; February 2.54"; and January 1.93".
Here are April recaps of previous years: