Sizzling heat to heavy snow: A look at the volatility of April weather across the US
In one part of the nation, snow was substantial enough to cause wipeouts on area roadways. Elsewhere temperatures soared to 111 degrees -- all during the first week of April.
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 7, 2022 3:10 PM EDT
|
Updated Apr 7, 2022 3:10 PM EDT
The United States is a large country boasting vastly different climates, and that was made abundantly clear with some of the weather extremes recorded on Wednesday. Snow fell and low temperatures records were broken in one half of the country, while high temperatures records and an ongoing heat wave stifled parts of the opposite half of the nation.
In the Pacific Northwest, residents can be excused for triple-checking the calendar throughout Wednesday as frigid cold conditions far more closely resembled December and January than April. The areas of Montague, California, Twin Falls, Idaho, and Burns and Baker, Oregon, all notched lowest daily temperatures in recorded history.
Farther east, pictures more suited for winter than spring emerged from areas in southern South Dakota, with April snow showers and howling winds making for a frosty day. In Sioux Falls, steadily falling snow blanketed yards and roads.
Those blanketed roads also made for a busy day for the South Dakota Highway Patrol, particularly in the Glacial Lakes region. Images of a jackknifed semi-truck and spun-out vehicles were shared by the state's department of transportation, as officials urged drivers to use caution and stay off roadways.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol urged residents to drive with caution amid falling snow on Wednesday. (Twitter / SDHighwayPatrol)
"Glacial Lakes Troopers are busy this morning in the summit area! Roads are icy!" the South Dakota Highway Patrol said on Twitter. "Slow down, buckle up, and give the vehicle in front of you space."
Meanwhile, in Utah, the day's lowest temperature was recorded in Peter Sinks. The natural sinkhole area is typically home to some of the country's coldest conditions. That was certainly the case on Wednesday, as the day's minimum temperature fell to 15 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
Compared to the record heat experienced in the hottest area of Texas – a high of 111 F was measured near Pharr, Texas, – which made for a 126-degree temperature swing on the same day in the U.S. Like nearly all things related to weather, the jet stream can be thanked for those extremes.
"The contrast between the record heat in the southern Plains and Southwest and the record cold in the Northwest was courtesy of the jet stream's location," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger said. "That jet stream kept the chilly air in the Northwest separated from the much warmer air farther south."
While the Northwest may have been tricked into thinking it was still winter, the Southwest and South Central regions of the U.S. seemed to have flipped the calendar ahead to far warmer months this week.
Abnormal heat covered all corners of the nation's southern half on Wednesday, as record-high daily temperatures were recorded in California, Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
In California, where record-low temperatures were recorded in the northern half of the state, the city of Anaheim broke its daily high-temperature record with a reading of 96 F, part of a summer preview AccuWeather forecasters had been calling for earlier in the week. In Louisiana, the area of Beaumont Port Arthur also saw a new daily record high of 88 F, breaking a record from 1946.
In Texas and Florida, a slew of daily high-temperature records fell, most notably in southern Texas, where a blast of warm, dry air sent temperatures far above the 100-degree mark. A recording of 109 F in McAllen was not only the day's highest temperature, it was the highest ever recorded there in April and just 2 degrees away from breaking the all-time high-temperature mark of 111 F set on June 22, 2017.
In the nearby city of Harlingen, Texas, a high temperature of 106 F also broke its daily record, while a third location, Brownsville, reached triple digits with a record-breaking reading of 104 F.
Wednesday's broken temperature records followed the pattern set on Tuesday, when multiple daily records fell and the city of Del Rio reached 100 F.
And to the east, broken records dotted the map in Florida as well.
Daily record high temperatures were recorded in the areas of Vero Beach, Sanford, Jacksonville, Orlando and Marathon, while Miami experienced a high of 90 F, falling just short of its daily record high.
The AccuWeather Real Feel Temperature® reached 99 degrees in Miami on Wednesday the city, making it feel nearly as hot as it did way back on July 21, 1942, when the mercury soared to the 100-degree mark for the first -- and only -- time in Miami history.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Weather News
Sizzling heat to heavy snow: A look at the volatility of April weather across the US
In one part of the nation, snow was substantial enough to cause wipeouts on area roadways. Elsewhere temperatures soared to 111 degrees -- all during the first week of April.
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 7, 2022 3:10 PM EDT | Updated Apr 7, 2022 3:10 PM EDT
The United States is a large country boasting vastly different climates, and that was made abundantly clear with some of the weather extremes recorded on Wednesday. Snow fell and low temperatures records were broken in one half of the country, while high temperatures records and an ongoing heat wave stifled parts of the opposite half of the nation.
In the Pacific Northwest, residents can be excused for triple-checking the calendar throughout Wednesday as frigid cold conditions far more closely resembled December and January than April. The areas of Montague, California, Twin Falls, Idaho, and Burns and Baker, Oregon, all notched lowest daily temperatures in recorded history.
Farther east, pictures more suited for winter than spring emerged from areas in southern South Dakota, with April snow showers and howling winds making for a frosty day. In Sioux Falls, steadily falling snow blanketed yards and roads.
Those blanketed roads also made for a busy day for the South Dakota Highway Patrol, particularly in the Glacial Lakes region. Images of a jackknifed semi-truck and spun-out vehicles were shared by the state's department of transportation, as officials urged drivers to use caution and stay off roadways.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol urged residents to drive with caution amid falling snow on Wednesday. (Twitter / SDHighwayPatrol)
"Glacial Lakes Troopers are busy this morning in the summit area! Roads are icy!" the South Dakota Highway Patrol said on Twitter. "Slow down, buckle up, and give the vehicle in front of you space."
Meanwhile, in Utah, the day's lowest temperature was recorded in Peter Sinks. The natural sinkhole area is typically home to some of the country's coldest conditions. That was certainly the case on Wednesday, as the day's minimum temperature fell to 15 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
Compared to the record heat experienced in the hottest area of Texas – a high of 111 F was measured near Pharr, Texas, – which made for a 126-degree temperature swing on the same day in the U.S. Like nearly all things related to weather, the jet stream can be thanked for those extremes.
"The contrast between the record heat in the southern Plains and Southwest and the record cold in the Northwest was courtesy of the jet stream's location," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger said. "That jet stream kept the chilly air in the Northwest separated from the much warmer air farther south."
Sweltering, summerlike heat for the South
While the Northwest may have been tricked into thinking it was still winter, the Southwest and South Central regions of the U.S. seemed to have flipped the calendar ahead to far warmer months this week.
Abnormal heat covered all corners of the nation's southern half on Wednesday, as record-high daily temperatures were recorded in California, Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
In California, where record-low temperatures were recorded in the northern half of the state, the city of Anaheim broke its daily high-temperature record with a reading of 96 F, part of a summer preview AccuWeather forecasters had been calling for earlier in the week. In Louisiana, the area of Beaumont Port Arthur also saw a new daily record high of 88 F, breaking a record from 1946.
In Texas and Florida, a slew of daily high-temperature records fell, most notably in southern Texas, where a blast of warm, dry air sent temperatures far above the 100-degree mark. A recording of 109 F in McAllen was not only the day's highest temperature, it was the highest ever recorded there in April and just 2 degrees away from breaking the all-time high-temperature mark of 111 F set on June 22, 2017.
In the nearby city of Harlingen, Texas, a high temperature of 106 F also broke its daily record, while a third location, Brownsville, reached triple digits with a record-breaking reading of 104 F.
Wednesday's broken temperature records followed the pattern set on Tuesday, when multiple daily records fell and the city of Del Rio reached 100 F.
And to the east, broken records dotted the map in Florida as well.
Daily record high temperatures were recorded in the areas of Vero Beach, Sanford, Jacksonville, Orlando and Marathon, while Miami experienced a high of 90 F, falling just short of its daily record high.
The AccuWeather Real Feel Temperature® reached 99 degrees in Miami on Wednesday the city, making it feel nearly as hot as it did way back on July 21, 1942, when the mercury soared to the 100-degree mark for the first -- and only -- time in Miami history.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo