Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Less Than Normal Rain Falls In April

April showers may bring May flowers, but not this year.

According to area weatherman John W. Teeter, the area received less rainfall than normal for April.

Normally, he said, April gets 5.25 inches of rain, but only 3.93 inches fell last month. This resulted in a deficit of 1.32 inches.

However, Teeter said, because of the wet February and March, the area is still showing a surplus on rainfall. The normal amount of rain for this time of year is 18.64 inches, while 39.55 inches had hit the ground. This means 20.81 inches more than usual has fallen.

Cale meteorologist Davis Benton said the south part of Nevada County saw 4.74 inches of rain, which is close to normal.

For the year, Benton said, the region is about eight inches ahead of the norm, as 27.55 inches of rain has been recorded.

Teeter said while the area has gotten nearly twice as much rain as normal, ground conditions are getting dry.

The average temperature for April, he said, was 66.5 degrees, with the norm being 63.9 degrees. This translates to the month being about 2.6 degrees warmer per day.

In fact, the high temperatures were in the 80s most of the month, with the high being 88 on April 5.

There were some chilly nights during the month, when the temperature dropped to 38 on April 18-19.

Teeter said the lowest high for the month was 70 degrees on April 24, while the highest low was 67 on April 7-8.

There were no watches or warnings posted during the month, the said, which is unusual as there are normally seven.

Thunder and small hail was reported during the month, on April 12 and 15, but resulted in no damage.

May is another strange month for weather, he said, as conditions can vary from day-to-day.

There are normally seven watches or warnings posted in May because of the weather.

May also gets around 5.10 inches of rain usually, with the average daily temperature being 63.9 degrees.

Additionally, this is still severe weather season in Arkansas, when conditions can change with little or no warning.