Good Friday, everyone. May is off and running with MUCH better weather pushing into the Commonwealth. Temps this weekend will actually be downright warm at times, but a cold front looks to crash the party on Sunday. Cold fronts look to become common into the first half of May, as chillier times return.
Clouds linger across the east early today and there’s still the threat for a shower. Clearing skies take control from west to east with the west hitting the low 70s and the far east struggling into the upper 50s and low 60s.
There’s a slight chance fro a shower or storm late tonight or early Saturday as winds become southwesterly. Everybody gets in on the warm weather for Saturday as highs reach the upper 70s to low 80s for some…
The numbers for Sunday are still warm as a cold front swings in from the northwest during the afternoon and evening…
This front may have some scattered storms ahead of it early Sunday, with fairly widespread showers and strong storms moving in later in the afternoon and continuing into the wee hours of Monday…
Temps behind that for Monday are still pretty darn nice under a sunny sky…
Another shower and storms maker sweeps in by Tuesday. That unleashes another round of cooler than normal temps and this may last through the middle of the month.
The Ensembles continue to show the numbers going WELL below normal at times…
GFS
EURO
The GFS is seeing one heck of a cold shot next weekend…
Again, don’t do any planting just yet!
Enjoy the day and take care.
The Chicago area really got a good soaking of rain this week, as many area rivers are near flood stage. Since Monday, the NWS forecast office in Romeoville in the SW suburbs received 2.69 inches of rain, of which 1.93 inches fell on the 29th. For the month, they wound up with exactly 5.00 inches of rain (including the melted-down snow), which is above the normal of 3.96 inches.
Chicago’s O’Hare Airport received less rain, 3.81 inches for the month, but 1.89 inches of that fell on the 29th. For the year so far, 10.86 inches of liquid-equivalent precip has fallen, above the normal of 9.40 inches.
O’Hare’s average temperature for the month was 48.4 degrees, just 0.6 degrees below normal. The first eight days of the month were much above normal, but the rest of the month was well below normal. There were only four days of 70+ degree temps, including one 80-degree day.
Looking forward to the next several days of mostly dry weather, and a warm day Saturday and maybe Sunday, before the below-normal temps return later next week.
With all the rain you have had Mike, at lease the severe weather was held to a minimum due to the cooler than normal temperatures. We also had one 80 degree day and so much rain during the month of April here in central Kentucky, but the severe weather also was held to a minimum due to the cooler than normal temperatures. The warmer days of May are not far off. Tomorrow is a preview.
Right, the severe weather was very limited. I think there was only one day in April that severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for any part of the Chicago county warning area.
As Chris Bailey just retweeted, it’s been a decade since the devastating floods of May 2010 in parts of Kentucky and Tennessee. While the loss of life was sad (21 fatalities in Tennessee alone), amazing the death toll wasn’t higher.
https://www.weather.gov/lmk/flood_050210_main
https://www.weather.gov/ohx/10thAnniversaryMay2010Flood
I was not directly affected as I lived in Indiana at the time, but recall the scenes on the news. Low areas near downtown Nashville were hard hit; further salt to the wound was when the local electric power company and a garbage company had their m`a`s`s`i`v`e fleets of parked vehicles damaged beyond repair from the high water thus further complicating recovery efforts after the waters finally receded. New Haven KY, including the Kentucky Railway Museum, were badly swamped. Long stretches of the tracks outside of New Haven were even washed off the rail bed.
The power of water is scary. As the saying goes, Turn Around Don’t Drown.
The Spring of 1979 in southern Indiana was hot and dry, but when June arrived it started raining and would not let up. The Ohio River was out of it’s banks and the small community of English, Indiana had to be moved to higher ground due to a complete “flood out.”
New Haven Ky is very flood prone the Rolling Fork River gives New Haven fits from time to time.
When my wife and I rode the museum train a few years ago, it was mentioned that 2010 was indeed far from the first time those tracks had washed out. Much of the line was abandoned decades ago as it was very expensive for CSX/L&N to repeatedly repair flood damage and there was not enough rail traffic to justify making the line more flood resistant such as elevating the tracks. Other than the museum, what’s left of the line now only has local freight traffic.
Remember it well, what a rain. Even underground water flows were changed permanently and my house, that sits on a hill, STILL had water damage in its basement – just too much water.
Wow… those were some incredible rainfall amounts! Over 9 inches of rain in 24 hours in Nashville!
I only learned of this item this morning….the flood washed a portable c`l`a`s`s`room structure onto I-24 in Nashville and the event was shown on live tv!
Thanks Chris, I agree “don’t plant yet” ground is too cold and wet anyway. The warmer days of May, usually after the middle of the month it should be safe to start your gardens.
I only grow a few plants.
I will cover my plants with buckets, if there is a frost potential.
My spinach plants are loving it.
Lexington barely misses top ten coldest April. Amazing what a new sensor can do. Even the Mesonet site is now warmer than BG airport.
Also, Lexington barely misses a top ten least snowy snow season (Jul – Jun). No sensor is going to fix that problem.