By Chuck Otte
County Extension Agent, Retired
For the eighth consecutive month area temperatures were above average. Unlike the two previous months, however, precipitation was also above average.
The average daily high for April was 73.2, 7.4 degrees above the long-term average. The average overnight low was 50.7, which was 8.1 degrees above the norm. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 61.9, 7.7 degrees above the 30-year average for April. This makes April the third hottest April on record. Statewide, April also tied for the third hottest on record. The hottest April was in 1955 with a monthly mean temperature of 63.2 degrees. The coldest April on record was in 1983 with a monthly mean temperature of only 45.9. The highest temperature for the month was 89 on the 13th. The lowest temperature for the month was the morning low of 34 on the 19th. With the chance of spring frosts hopefully behind us it would make the morning low of 30 on March 29th the last spring frost of the season and the start of the growing season. There was one temperature record tied in April, and three records broken. These were all for high overnight low temperatures. 65 degrees on the 15th tied the old record that was set in 2002. 61 degrees on the 3rd broke the old record of 58 set in 1978; 66 on the 11th broke the old record high low temperature of 62 set in 1960 and the low of 68 on the 14th broke the old record of 64 set in 2003. There were no new record high temperatures for April.
April was lagging behind average rainfall until late in the month. Long term average April precipitation is 3.15 inches, and we ended the month slightly above that with 3.87 inches recorded at the Milford Lake Corps of Engineers Offices at Milford Lake. The driest April on record was 1989 when a mere 0.36 inches of rain was recorded. The wettest April dates back to 1944 when 12.59 inches of precipitiation nundated the region. Year to date we are still slightly behind average. So far in 2026 we have received 6.31 inches of precipitation, average for the first four months of the year is 6.98 inches. The snowfall season is also apparently over for the year, and it was quite lackluster for those snow lovers in the region. There was only one good snowstorm late in January, and the rest of the few snow occasions were very light. Long term average seasonal snowfall is 18 inches, and we received 10.8 inches for the 2025-26 season.
May brings spring into full bloom. Average daily highs for May range from 70 on the 1st to 80 by the end of the month. Overnight lows start the month around 49 and by the end of the month are reaching 60. May is our wettest month of the year with average rainfall of 5.14 inches.