ZCZC ARBCLMFNT CXUS53 KFNT 012233 CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR FLINT - APRIL 2003 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 600 PM EDT THU MAY 1 2003 ...NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURE MONTH WAS ANYTHING BUT... ...WORST ICE STORM IN YEARS HITS AFTER NOTABLE WARM SPELL... ...MOTHER NATURE "FOOLS" US LATER WITH NICE WEATHER ON APRIL 1ST... ...12TH SNOWIEST APRIL ON RECORD... THE LONG...COLD WINTER OF 2002-03 WAS NOT GOING TO GIVE UP EASILY AS YET ANOTHER ARCTIC BLAST BLEW INTO THE REGION DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL. MOTHER NATURE REALLY PULLED AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE ON THE INHABITANTS OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. AFTER A BEAUTIFUL APRIL 1ST WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES WELL INTO THE 60S (65 AT FLINT)...THE WEATHER TOOK A TURN FOR THE WORSE ON THE 3RD WHEN THE APRIL FOOLS WAS PLAYED. A STRONG ARCTIC FRONT PUSHED ITS WAY SOUTH ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN DURING THE AFTERNOON ON THE 3RD. THE TEMPERATURE EXTREMES ACROSS JUST SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN WERE QUITE DRAMATIC AND IMPRESSIVE WITH A WINTER-LIKE AIRMASS CONTRASTING WITH A SUMMER-LIKE ONE. WHILE LOWER TO MID 30S WERE COMMONPLACE ACROSS THE SAGINAW VALLEY AND THUMB REGION, TEMPERATURES AT THE SAME TIME WERE INTO THE 70S (WITH ONE OR TWO PLACES EVEN FLIRTING WITH 80) IN LENAWEE AND MONROE COUNTIES. A STORM CENTER MOVED NORTHEAST ALONG IT AND PRODUCED THUNDERSTORMS... VERY HEAVY RAIN...A DANGEROUS COATING OF FREEZING RAIN WHICH LED TO SIGNIFICANT ICING EVENT ON THE 3RD/4TH OVER MOST OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. THERE WERE ACTUALLY TWO EVENTS...OVERNIGHT ON THE 3RD INTO THE 4TH AND THEN AGAIN...LATER ON THE 4TH. GENERAL REPORTS OF ICE FROM A 1/4 TO 1/2 INCH WERE RELAYED TO THE WEATHER SERVICE WITH ISOLATED REPORTS OF ICE THICKNESS OF UP TO AN INCH. LATER ON THE 5TH...SLEET AND SNOW FOLLOWED THE ICE AS COLDER AIR FILTER IN. SOME AREAS AROUND FLINT NORTH INTO THE SAGINAW VALLEY AND THUMB REGION REPORTED UP TO AN INCH OR TWO OF SLEET/SNOW ON TOP OF THE ICE. THE CUSTOMERS WHO LOST POWER TOTALED CLOSE TO A HALF-MILLION ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. DTE ENERGY STATED IT WAS THE WORST ICE STORM IN 27 YEARS /1976/ AS FAR AS CUSTOMERS WITH POWER OUTAGE. OVER 100,000 CUSTOMERS WERE STILL WITHOUT POWER FIVE DAYS LATER. MOTHER NATURE GAVE US THE ONE-TWO PUNCH DURING THAT FIRST WEEK OF APRIL AS YET ANOTHER STORM MOVED UP THE OHIO VALLEY ON THE 7TH AND LEFT A COUPLE OF INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS THE REGION. FLINTS SNOWFALL FOR APRIL OF JUST 3.6 INCHES STILL MADE IT THE 12TH SNOWIEST APRIL ON RECORD (AFTER A WINTER THAT WAS THE 17TH SNOWIEST...MUCH MORE ABOUT THE WINTER 2002-03 IN THE WINTER WRITE-UP DUE OUT SHORTLY). A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 32 ON THE 5TH AND 33 ON THE 8TH WERE THE COLDEST APRIL 5TH/8TH EVER RECORDED AT FLINT SINCE 1942. WARMER WEATHER RETURNED MID MONTH (ALONG WITH OUR FIRST 80 DEGREE DAY) WHEN THE TEMPERATURE SURGED TO 85 DEGREES ON THE 15TH. THIS 85 SUPERSEDED THE OLD RECORD OF 84 SET IRONICALLY...JUST LAST YEAR. IN ADDITION...A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 79 DEGREES ON THE 14TH BROKE THE OLD RECORD OF 76 SET BACK IN 1954. JUST A WEEK EARLIER...THE RECORD LOW MAXIMUMS IN THE THE LOWER 30S WERE SET. THE WARMER WEATHER RETURNED MID MONTH IN TIME FOR EASTER BUT ALONG WITH THE WARMER WEATHER CAME THE STORMS. AN APPROACHING STRONG COLD FRONT CHURNED UP SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EASTER AFTERNOON. MANY REPORTS OF HAIL AND HIGH WINDS WERE RECEIVED WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS. ANOTHER POLAR AIR MASS MADE IT FAR ENOUGH SOUTH INTO THE GREAT LAKES TO BRING MORE SNOW SHOWERS TO SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN ON THE 22ND (AND HOPEFULLY THE LAST OF THE SEASON). THE MONTH WENT OUT ON THE STORMY SIDE WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE NIGHT OF THE 30TH. THE STORMS CONTAINED VERY HEAVY RAINS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS. WHILE THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS JUST ABOVE THE NORMAL AT FLINT...AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 42.6 WAS NOTABLY BELOW NORMAL /-2.9/. ................................................................ ...TEMPERATURES... ...PRECIPITATION... AVERAGE MAXIMUM........... 57.1 MONTHLY TOTAL ............ 2.94 AVERAGE MINIMUM .......... 34.6 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.....-0.19 AVERAGE MONTHLY........... 45.8 GREATEST IN 24HRS/DATES... 1.57 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL..... +0.4 ON THE 3RD-4TH HIGHEST..........85 ON THE 15TH 2003 TOTAL................ 5.51 LOWEST...........18 ON THE 6TH DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.....-2.76 ...HEATING DEGREE DAYS... ...NUMBER OF DAYS WITH... MONTHLY TOTAL.............. 575 0.01 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 12 MONTHLY DEPARTURE.......... -2 0.10 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 5 2002-2003 SEASON TOTAL.....6796 0.50 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 1 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL......+126 1.00 OR MORE PRECIPITATION.. 1 ...COOLING DEGREE DAYS... ...SNOWFALL... MONTHLY TOTAL.......... 9 MONTHLY TOTAL............... 3.6 MONTHLY DEPARTURE...... 4 MONTHLY DEPARTURE........... +1.0 2003 SEASON............ 9 2002-2003 SEASON TOTAL...... 52.1 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.. 4 DEPARTURE FROM AVERAGE...... +3.8 (NEW 1971-2000 AVERAGE)..... 48.3 PEAK GUST - WEST 52 MPH/20TH ______________________________________________________________________ APRIL 2003 CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE...WHITE LAKE MI. ...TEMPERATURE DATA... ...PRECIPITATION DATA... AVERAGE MAXIMUM.... 56.2 MONTHLY TOTAL .......... 4.63 AVERAGE MINIMUM.... 33.4 GREATEST IN 24HRS....... 2.44 MONTHLY AVERAGE.... 44.8 ON THE 4TH 2003 TOTAL.............. 8.99 ...HEATING DEGREE DAYS... ...SNOWFALL DATA... MONTHLY TOTAL............ 606 MONTHLY TOTAL............ 5.1 2002-2003 SEASON TOTAL...7012 2002-2003 SEASON TOTAL... 66.0 ...COOLING DEGREE DAYS... MONTHLY TOTAL........... 0 2003 SEASON............. 0 DEEDLER NNNN