The temperature last month was quite variable from day to daywhile many fields miss the rainfall and no tornado hit NC all month. However, a rich feature in April is pollen.
Warm days and cool nights
Our mid-spring month is sometimes like three different seasons, including the warmth of early summer and the chill of winter nights. They equate to a preliminary statewide mean temperature of 58.8°Faccording to the National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI), and April 44 is the warmest in the past 128 years.
The magnitude of our temperature variation is seen in several local charts, particularly in eastern North Carolina.
Average high temperature in Wilmington is 1 degree above normal and associated with the temperature is 26-warmest in April, while the average low temperature is 1 degree below normal and tied to the most interesting 67th since 1874. Elizabeth City similarly, April is the 36th warmest based on average highs and April is the 42nd coolest based on average lows.
Our temperatures often drop with the vagaries (and winds) of high-pressure systems moving through, and they make a dramatic difference between days.
For example, on April 20, High pressure in our north created in cool air and produced a nighttime low of 30 years. Just two days later, the high pressure descended south move behind a warm front on April 22 and raised our afternoon high to the 80s.
That retrograde pattern continued into the end of the month and we again see temperatures hitting both extreme highs and lows. Five days in a row starting April 22, temperatures hit 80°F statewide. That period ended with our warmest day of the year so far on April 26, like afternoon highs hit above the 80s.
Just two days later, morning lows dropped to 30s on April 28, with light frost observed in parts of western North Carolina.
Drought persists in the middle of arid April
April showers were not as widespread as we might have hoped, leaving much of the state drier than usual. The NCEI reports a statewide preliminary average rainfall of 2.84 inchesone inch below the recent 30-year average and ranks as April 36 driest since 1895.
All parts of the state had rain last month, but the total was mild in some places. Raleigh recorded a total of 2.05 inches for the 36th driest April since 1887, and Greenville tied in April was the 9th driest with a total of just 1.54 inches.
A few wet areas during the month include southern Piedmont and a stretch of the Coastal Plain from Whiteville through New Bern to Manteo. Those spots have benefited from rain during some violent local events.
On April 5, low pressure across the Carolinas brought a total of up to 2 inches of rain in some of our coastal counties. One same setup on April 18 brought the heaviest rain across the southern tier, including a 24-hour total of 2.4 inches in both Rutherford County in the Foothills and Bald Island along the south coast.
Less rain last month also means fewer spring storms and less severe weather. In fact, there were No confirmed tornadoes in North Carolina all monthalthough April is one of the Climatologically the most popular months for tornado activity.
Our last call arrived April 5, as severe thunderstorms swept our south and created tornadoes across Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Those storms reach North Carolina after sunset, reducing their severity and likelihood of creating tornadoes.
The last April without a tornado hit in North Carolina was in 2017. During that month five years ago, rain was more widespread, pushing the Tar River to the stage of Great Flood and eliminating drought in the Mountains.
After this April, the drought condition is largely unchanged from the beginning of the month. Moderate (D1) and severe (D2) droughts still occur over most of the Coastal Plain, with slight improvements as heavier rains fall along the southern and central coasts, and some recession at the end of the month further north.
The good news is that even after a dry month, some new areas have fallen into a dry spell. While some normal lower flow Already present across northern Piedmont, the driest conditions remain in the east.
Even in drought-affected areas, soil moisture is generally sufficient for farmers to begin planting. USDA / NASS . Report 80% of corn and 36% of tobacco were grown, both close to or slightly above the five-year average.
More rain this month is sure to help these newly planted plants take root, and despite the lack of showers in April, it will also help those May flowers bloom.
A long pollen season
Now that the trees have shed their leaves in the wake of winter hibernation, the landscape is so green. But at times in April, it takes on a brilliant golden hue thanks to the diffusion of nature’s sparkling light: pollen.
Data from NC .’s Air Quality Division shows how pollen counts have skyrocketed so far this spring, starting with the first increase in pollen levels on trees on March 31. At that time, pines dominated pollen manufacturers.
Currently, tree pollen levels are declining, with oak and maple trees being the last to produce seeds. That is largely consistent with historical trend showed that pollen grains peaked in April.
However, in the last few days of the month, the grass thrived, including a seed count of 23 seeds per cubic meter on April 28. That was the highest grass pollen level of the season – so far, anyway. . Historically, pollen peaks in mid-to-late May, meaning allergy sufferers can experience itchy eyes, sniffles, and stuffy noses for a few more weeks.
While the highest daily grass and tree pollen levels observed so far this year are much lower than a year ago. 2019, the spikes in April that year were less than a week apart. This year, the steady arrival of pollen from various sources over the past month has kept pollen season – and our noses – on and off.
