Monthly Climatological Summary
Norman 3SE, Cleveland Co., OK (Lat 35^10'57"N, Lon 97^25'27"W, elev 1130)
April 2003
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Temperature Precipitation Snow AM PM
Max Min Water Snow Depth Wx Wx
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01 78.6 53.6 .00 0.0 0 SKC SKC
02 80.2 53.6 .00 0.0 0 SCT SCT
03 74.3 59.2 T 0.0 0 BKN TS -SHRA
04 68.0 49.5 .00 0.0 0 BKN SKC
05 66.9 40.5 .07 0.0 0 BKN TSRA
06 74.5 48.6 1.13 T* 0 +TSRA GR SKC
07 57.4 36.7 .00 0.0 0 SKC SKC
08 47.8 32.7 .00 0.0 0 BKN BKN
09 61.3 30.7 .00 0.0 0 SKC FEW
10 72.5 33.4 .00 0.0 0 SKC SCT
11 79.0 45.1 .00 0.0 0 BKN BKN
12 79.3 43.2 .00 0.0 0 SKC SKC
13 84.6 53.6 .00 0.0 0 BKN SCT
14 83.3 60.4 .00 0.0 0 SCT SCT
15 70.2 59.2 .07 0.0 0 OVC TSRA
16 72.1 54.7 T 0.0 0 BKN BKN
17 73.0 46.8 .00 0.0 0 BKN OVC
18 84.2 54.9 .00 0.0 0 BKN BKN
19 82.6 55.2 .54 0.0 0 +TSRA SCT
20 68.7 47.1 .00 0.0 0 SCT SKC
21 74.7 43.7 .00 0.0 0 SCT SCT
22 76.5 49.6 .00 0.0 0 BKN OVC
23 62.2 50.7 .03 0.0 0 -SHRA -TSRA
24 79.2 53.6 .00 0.0 0 SCT SCT
25 70.0 51.6 .00 0.0 0 OVC SCT
26 76.3 47.8 .00 0.0 0 SKC SKC
27 87.6 58.5 .00 0.0 0 SKC BKN
28 84.4 62.2 T 0.0 0 SCT -SHRA
29 85.3 59.5 .00 0.0 0 SCT SCT
30 86.4 61.7 .00 0.0 0 BKN BKN
KEY TO AM/PM WX: SKC - sky clear, FEW - few clouds, SCT -
partly cloudy, BKN - mostly cloudy, OVC - overcast, RA -
rain, SHRA - rain shower, TS - thunderstorm, TSRA - thunderstorm
with rain, GR - hail.
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Means and Totals for April 2003
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Average Maximum Temperature: 74.7
Average Minimum Temperature: 49.9
Mean Temperature: 62.3
Maximum Temperature: 87.6 (4-27-03)
Minimum Temperature: 30.7 (4-09-03)
Days with max temperature 90.0F+: 0 Year: 0
Days with max temperature <32.0F: 0 Year: 4
Days with min temperature <32.0F: 1 Year: 51
Days with min temperature <0.0F: 0 Year: 0
Precipitation: 1.84 Year: 6.46
Greatest one-day precipitation: 1.13 (4-06-03)
Snowfall: T Year: 5.0
Greatest one-day snowfall: T (4-06-03)
Maximum snow depth at midnight: 0
Days with measureable pcpn: 5 Year: 25
Days with pcpn 1.00"+: 1 Year: 1
Days with measureable snowfall: 0 Year: 4
Days with snowfall 1"+: 0 Year: 2
Days with glaze ice: 0 Year: 5
Days with damaging wind: 1 Year: 1
Days with hail: 1 Year: 4
Days with thunderstorms: 6 Year: 12
Days with fog: 0 Year: 8
NOTICE: All temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit and all precipitation values in inches. Snowfall totals denoted by an asterisk indicate hail.
Summary....April 2003 featured a lot of fast moving storms without a whole lot of moisture to work with across much of the southern Plains. The region experienced about a half dozen days with severe weather this month. A very photogenic storm tracked across southwestern and central Oklahoma on the 3rd, dropping hail larger than baseballs. One of the most destructive hailstorms in recent history struck just across the Red River in northern Texas on the 5th, dropping copious amounts of softball sized hail across a wide swath from near Abilene to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The hail was accompanied by near hurricane force winds, making it especially damaging to buildings and vehicles. A hailstorm hundreds of times less significant hit Norman before sunrise on the 6th, but still covered the ground with marble sized hail. Several tornadoes hit far western Oklahoma on the 15th, with one doing damage to a school in Sweetwater. Fast moving storms raced across northern and eastern Oklahoma on the 19th, with one long tracked, damaging tornado in the far northeastern part of the state. The 23rd brought severe weather and a few tornadoes to mostly southern parts of the state. A sudden burst of wind did damage to a Wal-Mart that same night about 10 miles to our north in Moore, apparently caused by a small scale low pressure system which developed in the wake of a departing complex of storms. Oklahoma was not exempt from the unseasonably cold weather which caused a lot of professional baseball games to be snowed out across the Midwest and Northeast early in the month, as the Oklahoma Redhawks had a game postponed on the 8th due to temperatures in the upper 30s and wind chills in the 20s. The few decent surges of Gulf of Mexico moisture that made it into the area this month were accompanied by smoke from ongoing fires in the Yucatan Peninsula region, which cut down on the visibility and dimmed the sun somewhat.
The rains that were curiously absent in Turlock CA in January and February came back in a big way in April, and now seem reluctant to leave. A total of 2.02 inches of rain occurred there during the month, which is more than the combined January/February total. Turlock passed the 10 inch mark for the season on the 4th, when a thunderstorm dropped 1/2 inch diameter hail. What was shaping up to be a disastrous rainy season in February has recovered nicely, with the season rainfall total at month's end a respectable 11.24 inches. The late season rally is showing no signs of ending, and it's certainly not out of the question Turlock could surpass its annual average of 13.25 inches by the end of May.
Many of you are probably wondering if I chased on May 4 - the answer is yes. Did I see any tornadoes? That answer will wait until next month's report. I will say for now that I got a little closer than I should have to a storm near McAlester, Oklahoma. Also, my storm chase vacation will be from about May 16-25 this year. Full details on all my chasing exploits will be found in next month's report.