May Almanac

Normal High & Low:

May 1        66° / 43°

May 31    76° / 54°

Record High:  95°,   Record Low:  25°

Normal rainfall:  3.14"

Sunrise & Sunset:

May 1      6:32 a.m. / 8:33 p.m.

May 31   6:04 a.m. / 9:03 p.m.

58 minutes of daylight gained

April Ends Warm & Dry

The first weekend will feature some showers and thunderstorms, but we close out April with a dry and warm final day.

This month did have some soaking rainfall.  Final precip tally for the month is 4.69", which is about an inch and a half above normal.

Dates of Last Spring Freeze

If you don't want to worry about frost and freezes, the good rule of thumb is to wait until Memorial Day to plant stuff (which isn't always possible).

Here is a link to final spring freeze dates.  It includes the average date, as well as some anomolies as well.

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cle/climate/info/spring_thaw.html

Major Severe Weather Outbreak

This weekend has and will continue to feature a major outbreak of severe weather across the Southeast.  On Saturday over 50 tornadoes were reported resulting in at least one dozen deaths.  In addition, over 300 reports of severe weather blanketed the region.   Here is a map of the severe weather reports for Saturday:



This is the most potent spring type storm so far this season featuring many of the ingredients necessary for a severe weather outbreak.  Ample gulf moisture, instability, strong upper level winds and wind shear (a change in wind speed or direction) were all present for this outbreak of severe storms.

Pollen Count Lowering

The rain this weekend will help wash the tree pollen out of the air.  Levels in the past few weeks have been on the high side (including the past few days).  Pollen levels should drop to the moderate category.  Unfortunately, the levels will rise back up to high next week.

Weekend Storm

A storm from the western USA will track across the country and move through our area this weekend.

Showers should begin Friday night or early Saturday.  We will see some off & on rain Saturday, with steadier showers Saturday night into Sunday.  The storm will depart Monday, taking the rain with it.

Computer model forecasts suggest the rain potential could be 1 to 2 inches.  We will continue to update things as the storm approaches.

Pictures Of Volcano Eruption

The University of Wisconsin - Madison's CIMSS department has released the following hi-res satellite pictures of the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

The first picture shows the volcano (yellow box), and the smoke (black lines shown by the arrows).  The second and third pictures are of the ash plume, taken on April 17 & 19 respectively.  Upper level winds have spread this ash across parts of Europe.  The presence of this ash in the atmosphere has been responsible for grounding flights across Europe.

Pollen count

The pollen levels the past few weeks have been horrible for those suffering from allergies.  Tree pollen has been quite high so far this spring.

Levels today and tomorrow will be in the high category, and will jump into the very high category for late-week.

The primary pollens the past few days have been birch and maple.

Facebook a Go-Go

All of the weather team is now on Facebook!

Robert's Page

Mike's Page

Chris's Page

Tara's Page

Very Warm Thursday

Highs will hit or break 80° in most areas.  Normal high is in the upper 50s.

Here are some area record highs for April 15:

• 79°  Morenci


• 81°  Defiance, Lima, Montpelier, Napoleon


• 82°  Findlay, Norwalk, Tiffin, Upper Sandusky, Wauseon, Kenton


• 84°  Adrian


• 85°  Toledo Express Airport

Quite Mild As Of Late

Tiffin River Flooding

The recent heavy rainfall has allowed the Tiffin River to rise.  Check the main weather page for the latest advisories and river stages.

Frosty Night

Clearing skies and light winds will allow temperatures to drop into the upper 20s and lower 30s tonight into Saturday morning.

Many areas could see a decent frost if the winds drop enough.  Far western and NW sections will be the coldest for a longer period, so a full freeze is possible.

Temps will warm quickly by mid-morning Saturday.

Storms...Then Cooler

It will be quite the transition between today and tomorrow.  A storm will pass through the area today into tonight, bringing with it occasional showers and storms.  Some of the storms could be strong or severe.  Storms will also have heavy downpours, so the potential exists for over an inch of rain.  In areas that see repeated storms, higher amounts will occur.

After highs yesterday in the 80s (we tied a record at Express Airport), and 70s today, temps will struggle to stay in the lower 50s Thursday & Friday afternoon.  This cool-down will be short-lived....highs of 60°+ will return this weekend, with some 70s early next week.

Please continue to check the main weather page for the up-to-the-minute forecasts, watches/warnings and Storm Track 11 Doppler radar.

More Record Highs

Record Highs For April 6:

• 77°  Morenci


• 78°  Findlay


• 80°  Harbor Beach, Wauseon


• 82°  Defiance, Benton Harbor, Napoleon


• 83°  Toledo, Tiffin, Kenton, Montpelier


• 84°  Lima


• 85°  Norwalk, Upper Sandusky

Normal high is 55°

Super Tornado Outbreak

Huge Tornado Outbreak Anniversary

April 3 and 4 marks the 36th anniversary of the big tornado outbreak of 1974, which produced 148 tornadoes in 24 hours.

This outbreak included the F-5 tornado that leveled much of Xenia, Ohio.

Other tornadoes that affected our viewing area included:

F2 - Melrose, OH
F3 - Continental, OH
F2 - Hillsdale, MI
F2 - Hudson, MI
F2 - Erie, MI
F2 - Estral Beach, MI
F2 - Windsor, Ontario

Here are some websites which explain the events in great detail:

From the National Weather Service

A collection of data combined into one website

Risk Of Fires

The very warm temperatures, combined with low humidity, dry grass/brush and gusty winds will create good ingredients for fire danger.

Any fires that are started outside may spread quickly the next few days.

Record Highs