NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY
APTIL 2019
1-6: Significant precipitation fell mainly across the South and Pacific Northwest, with a few spots in both regions receiving in excess of 4 inches. Mostly light precipitation fell in other areas of the country, except for mostly dry weather in the
Southwest. On April 2, wet snow fell in parts of the Carolinas. Three days later, portions of the Northeast received measurable snow. a storm system produced rain and wet snow in the Atlantic Coast States. Daily-record rainfall totals for April 2
reached 2.23 inches in Cape Hatteras, NC, and 1.00 inch in North Myrtle Beach, SC, while a trace of snow fell in Greensboro, NC, and Greenville Spartanburg, SC. On the same date, Charlotte, NC, reported snowfall totaling 0.1 inch—the first measurable
snow in April at that location since April 3, 1915. Heavy
showers developed on the 4th in the central Gulf Coast region, where Lake Charles, LA (6.42 inches), experienced its wettest April day since April 29, 1940, when 7.61 inches fell. Another round of precipitation moved across the East on April 5, when
Albany, NY, collected a daily-record snowfall of 2.1 inches. Farther west, periods of precipitation resulted in daily-record totals in Washington locations such as Bellingham (0.62 inch on April 3) and Wenatchee (0.32 inch on April 5). Northwestern
precipitation intensified at week’s end, when daily-record totals in Oregon for April 6 included 1.21 inches in Salem, 0.88 inch in Troutdale, and 0.78 inch in Portland.

7-13: Spring storminess intensified, with heavy precipitation falling in the Northwest and upper Midwest. At week’s end, heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms swept across the South. The Northwestern precipitation eased water-supply concerns
in northern watersheds, such as the northern Cascades, but sparked early-week flooding in western Oregon. Later, a winter-like storm struck the upper Midwest from April 10-12, resulting in blizzard conditions due to wind-driven snow (locally 1 to 2 feet
or more). On April 10, the storm’s impact reached into the southern Plains and Southwest, where wind raised dust and lowered visibilities. The upper Midwestern storm, nearly as strong as and similar in geographic coverage to the mid-March system that
sparked severe flooding in the western Corn Belt, blasted portions of the nation’s mid-section with wind and snow. , many upper Midwestern rivers continued to run high, with the Sheyenne River at Harwood, ND, cresting on April 8 at 7.61 feet above
flood stage—the fourth highest level on record and just 0.41 foot below the April 1997 high water mark. The Red River at Fargo, ND, also crested on April 8, more than 17 feet above flood stage and the tenth-highest level on record—5.79 feet below
the March 2009 standard. In South Dakota, April 10-12 snowfall totaled 25.0 inches in Watertown, 18.0 inches in Huron, 16.2 inches in Mitchell, and 16.1 inches in Pierre. Respective peak wind gusts at those four locations were 54, 50, 69, and 50 mph.
In Wisconsin, storm-total snowfall reached 13.1 inches (with a peak gust to 47 mph) in Wausau and 11.4 inches (with a peak gust to 54 mph) in Eau Claire. Winds in Minnesota gusted to 50 mph in Minneapolis-St. Paul and St. Cloud, with snowfall totaling 9.
8 and 8.3 inches, respectively. Valentine, NE, received 7.1 inches of snow and clocked a peak wind gust to 55 mph. In eastern North Dakota, snowfall included 6.6 inches in Grand Forks and 6.1 inches in Fargo. Meanwhile, heavy precipitation slowly
subsided in the Northwest. Still, April 1-13 rainfall in Oregon totaled 8.77 inches (340 percent of normal) in North Bend; 6.60 inches (405 percent) in Eugene; and 4.43 inches (323 percent) in Salem. Eugene’s wettest April on record occurred in 1993,
when 7.85 inches fell. Elsewhere in Oregon, record setting rainfall totals for April 7 included 3.17 inches in North Bend, 2.34 inches in Eugene, and 1.98 inches in Roseburg. On April 7-8 in California, Crescent City reported consecutive daily-record
totals of 2.84 and 1.96 inches, respectively. In the community of Service Creek, OR, the John Day River crested 4.69 feet above flood stage on April 9, marking the third-highest water level on record in that location—and the highest since January 1997.
Early-week downpours also struck parts of the mid-South, where record-setting rainfall amounts for April 7 reached 5.54 inches in El Dorado, AR, and 3.12 inches in Monroe, LA. That total marked El Dorado’s wettest day since April 28, 1991, when 6.
09 inches fell. Heavy rain returned to the South on April 13, when El Dorado (3.24 inches) netted another daily-record sum. Other record-setting totals for April 13 included 3.08 inches in Monroe, LA; 2.51 inches in Wichita Falls, TX; and 2.50 inches
in Lawton, OK.

14-20: Back-to-back storms delivered heavy precipitation across much of the South and East and portions of the Midwest. Weekly precipitation totaled 4 inches or more in parts of the southern Appalachians, while a much broader area along and east of a
line from eastern Texas to Michigan generally received at least 1 to 3 inches. The week began with a late-season snowfall from northern Illinois into Lower Michigan. Later, warmer weather melted that snow, as well as lingering snow cover from the
previous week’s major upper Midwestern storm system. The melting snow, along with heavy rain in the Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes region.
Farther west, however, significant Midwestern snow fell on April 14, when daily-record totals reached 6.7 inches in Muskegon, MI; 5.4 inches in Chicago, IL; and 4.9 inches in Milwaukee, WI. For Chicago, it was the second-latest snowfall of 5 inches or
greater, behind only a 5.4-inch accumulation on April 16, 1961. Meanwhile, the first of two rounds of heavy rain struck the South and East. Asheville, NC, measured daily record rainfall totals (2.21 and 5.29 inches, respectively) on April 14 and 19.
Allentown, PA, also netted a daily-record total (1.17 inches) for April 14. Showery weather also prevailed in the Northwest, where Seattle, WA, set an April record with measurable precipitation on 12 consecutive days. Seattle’s streak, which lasted
from April 3-14, resulted in 2.76 inches of rain; the previous record, an 11-day streak from April 7-17, 1955, had featured 3.14 inches. On April 16, precipitation in the Great Basin resulted in daily-record totals in Nevada locations such as Ely (0.66
inch) and Las Vegas (0.10 inch). Northwestern daily-record amounts included 0.84 inch (on April 18) in Bellingham, WA, and 0.65 inch (on April 19) in Lewiston, ID. In Montana, record-setting totals for April 20 reached 0.96 inch in Livingston and 0.54
inch at Dillon Airport. Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms swept across the South from April 17-19, spawning several dozen, mostly minor tornadoes. On April 18, daily-record totals topped 4 inches in locations such as Little Rock, AR (5.44 inches),
and Baton Rouge, LA (4.82 inches). For Little Rock, it was the wettest day since November 21, 2011, when 6.06 inches fell, and the wettest April day since April 21, 1974, when 7.58 inches fell. The following day, record-setting amounts for April 19
totaled 2.89 inches in Bristol, TN, and 2.14 inches in Athens, GA. Asheville’s aforementioned April 19 total of 5.29 inches represented its wettest day since October 25, 1918, when 5.38 inches fell, and its wettest April day on record, topping 3.39
inches on April 4, 1957. Also on the 19th, a wind gust to 53 mph in Gainesville, FL, was the second-highest April gust on record in that location, behind 56 mph on April 30, 2010.

21-27: Late-week snow pushed seasonal accumulations to record high levels in Midwestern locations such as Rochester, MN (86.8 inches) and Waterloo, IA (60.0 inches). Previous records had been 85.1 inches (in 1996-97) in Rochester and 59.4 inches (in 1961-
62) in Waterloo. On April 27, snowfall to totaled 2.1 inches in Rochester and 0.7 inch in Waterloo, while Waterloo also netted a daily record precipitation sum of 1.01 inches. Other record setting snowfall amounts for April 27 included 3.7 inches in
Rockford, IL; 2.5 inches in Chicago, IL; 1.7 inches in Milwaukee, WI; and 1.2 inches in Madison, WI. For Rockford, it was the latest-ever storm with a 2-inch snowfall; the previous record was set on April 23-24, 1910, when 2.5 inches fell. For Chicago,
it was the latest calendar-day snowfall of 2 inches or more, although that city had received a 2.2-inch total on May 1-2, 1940. Prior to the late-week storm, periodically heavy showers affected parts of the South, East, and Midwest. Selected daily-record
totals included 2.57 inches (on April 25) in Vicksburg, MS; 2.30 inches (on April 22) in Boston, MA; 1.88 inches (on April 24) in Austin, TX; 1.37 inches (on April 23) in Oklahoma City, OK; 1.31 inches (on April 22) in Marquette, MI; and 1.02 inches (on
April 26) in Zanesville, OH. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, recorded 3.57 inches on April 23-24.

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