The warm, dry conditions that dominated March continued through the first half of April in Kansas. This resulted in warmer-than-normal conditions for the month as a whole, although not as extreme as last month. The mean temperature for April was 55.6 degrees F which was 1.9 degrees warmer than normal. While on the warm side of the distribution, it was only the 36th warmest since 1895. The South Central Division had the largest departure with a mean temperature of 58.4 degrees F, or 2.8 degrees warmer than average. The West Central Division was closest to normal, with a mean temperature of 52.1 degrees F or 0.9 degrees warmer than normal. The number of record daily highs was fewer than in previous months with only 6 new records. There were just three new record warm minimum temperatures set. The warmest high temperature was 91 degrees F recorded at Ashland (Clark County) on the 4th and at Hudson (Stafford County) on the 26th. There were six new record cold high temperatures. All of these new record cold high temperatures occurred on the 30th of the month, as a cold front brought snow at end the month. These low temperatures so late in the season brought concerns of damage to vegetation that moved out of dormancy early. This was especially true for winter wheat.
After a dry start to the month, April ended with a wet pattern. The Southeast Division and East Central divisions came closest to normal. The Southeast Division averaged 5.40 inches which was 138 percent of normal; the East Central Division average 5.14 inches which was 142 percent of normal. The remaining divisions ranged from 176 percent of normal in the North Central Division to 335 percent of normal in the Southwestern Division. These rainfall amounts brought year-to-date totals at or above normal for all but the East Central and Southeast Divisions. Dodge City went from one of the driest starts to the year on record to the wettest May on record. The statewide average precipitation was 5.18 inches, or 207 percent of normal. This ranks as the 4th wettest April on record. The greatest monthly total was 9.53 inches at Montezuma, Gray County (NWS). The greatest total for CoCoRaHS stations was 9.68 inches at Dodge City 9.1 WNW, Ford County. There were 159 new daily record precipitation totals. Twenty-one of those were record high amounts for April, and two set all-time daily rainfall records. The all-time records both occurred on April 17th: 5.48 inches at Cedar Bluff Dam, and 5.31 inches at McCracken.
Along with the increased rainfall pattern there was an increase in severe weather reports. There were 7 tornadoes reported, as well as 41 reports of damaging wind. The most common severe weather report was hail. There were 119 reports of hail during the month.
The wet end to the month resulted in dramatic improvements in the drought status. The end of March had only 26 percent of the state as drought-free. The last Drought Monitor issued in April had 43 percent of the state labeled drought-free. Additional improvement will show in the first May map, as precipitation at the end of April is included in the analysis. The precipitation outlook for May favors wetter-than-average conditions in most of the state, with only the northeast in neutral, with equal chances for above or below normal precipitation. However, the short-term outlooks are for wetter-than-average conditions for the first half of the month statewide.
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Apr 2016 |
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Kansas Climate Division Summary |
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Precipitation (inches) |
Temperature (oF) |
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Apr- 206 |
2016 Jan through April |
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Monthly Extremes |
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Division |
Total |
Dep. 1 |
% Normal |
Total |
Dep. 1 |
% Normal |
Ave |
Dep. 1 |
Max |
Min |
|
Northwest |
4.53 |
2.42 |
214 |
5.91 |
1.45 |
132 |
51.1 |
1.0 |
83 |
22 |
|
West Central |
4.55 |
2.62 |
236 |
5.88 |
1.39 |
128 |
52.1 |
0.9 |
84 |
21 |
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Southwest |
5.62 |
3.96 |
335 |
5.99 |
1.90 |
144 |
54.9 |
1.1 |
91 |
18 |
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North Central |
4.39 |
1.84 |
176 |
6.18 |
0.08 |
102 |
55.2 |
2.0 |
86 |
24 |
|
Central |
5.17 |
2.48 |
199 |
7.14 |
0.42 |
109 |
56.2 |
2.0 |
89 |
22 |
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South Central |
5.56 |
2.83 |
210 |
7.26 |
-0.18 |
100 |
58.4 |
2.8 |
91 |
24 |
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Northeast |
6.10 |
2.81 |
187 |
8.37 |
0.77 |
111 |
56.4 |
2.6 |
87 |
22 |
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East Central |
5.14 |
1.55 |
142 |
7.62 |
-1.00 |
87 |
57.2 |
2.7 |
86 |
23 |
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Southeast |
5.40 |
1.47 |
138 |
8.28 |
-1.76 |
82 |
58.6 |
2.4 |
87 |
23 |
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STATE |
5.18 |
2.48 |
207 |
6.94 |
0.31 |
110 |
55.6 |
1.9 |
91 |
18 |
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1. Departure from 1981-2010 normal value |
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Source: KSU Weather Data Library |
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Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu
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