April 2016 Climate Summary Now Available

Overview - April Showers Brought Drought Relief to the Region

Despite dry conditions to begin the month, April ended very wet across most of the High Plains region. The warmth and dryness of March that was experienced by the eastern High Plains continued into the first half of April, causing drought conditions to expand. But, a series of storm systems crossed the region during mid-late April and brought relief to this area. Drought was removed in North Dakota and South Dakota, and it was reduced in Kansas. In the western High Plains, these storms boosted mountain snowpack, which was welcome in Wyoming where snowpack has suffered this season. Thanks to beneficial precipitation, Colorado’s surface water supplies were in good shape as of the end of April, and the snowmelt/runoff season is expected to be near normal. A potent storm system impacted much of the region April 15-17 and brought widespread rainfall to the eastern High Plains, severe weather to Kansas, and more than 4 feet (122 cm) of snow to the foothills of the Colorado Front Range. This large system also impacted areas outside of the High Plains region, most notably Houston, Texas, which experienced historic flooding. Houston received 9.92 inches (252 mm) of rainfall on the 18th, which was the 2nd highest 1-day total precipitation on record for the city (period of record 1888-2016).

While most locations experienced a continuation of above normal temperatures in April, the warmth was not nearly as pronounced as it was during February and March. In fact, eastern North Dakota experienced below normal temperatures in April, which was quite a change from the impressive warmth this region had over the winter. Conditions in April brought both positive and negative impacts to agriculture. In Kansas, warm temperatures accelerated corn planting and emergence, and winter wheat was entering the heading stage well ahead of schedule, but the recent excessive moisture had farmers concerned about wheat rust. Cool and wet conditions caused delays in planting corn in South Dakota and Nebraska, as farmers had to wait for muddy fields to dry. Some drying in May is needed for farmers to resume planting in these areas.         

For more information on temperature, precipitation, and impacts from climate in April in the High Plains region, please see the link to the full PDF of the summary: http://hprcc.unl.edu/climatesummaries.php