Updraft: April 30, 2010 Archive

Twin Cities: Warmest April in 95 years

Posted at 5:20 PM on April 30, 2010 by Paul Huttner
Filed under: Gulf oil spill, Rainfall, Remote sensing

Congratulations. You've just enjoyed a once in a lifetime April.

When the final numbers are tallied, April's average monthly temperature in the Twin Cities will roll in at about 54.7 degrees Fahrenheit. That's 8.3 degrees warmer than average and the 4th warmest April on record in the Twin Cities since Pioneer records began in 1820. The last April that was this warm in the metro was in 1915.

Here are the top 10 warmest Aprils according to the Minnesota Climatology Working Group.

Rank Temp Year
---------------
1. 57.3...1839
2. 56.0...1915
3. 55.2...1825
4. 54.7...2010*
5. 54.0...1832
6. 53.9...1955
7. 53.5...1897
53.5...2006 (tie)
9. 53.2...1925
10. 53.0...1895
53.0...1977 (tie)

* as of April 27

Weekend Weather: Mixed bag

Look for a blustery unsettled weekend in Minnesota. Generally speaking, the weather will be better in the southern half of Minnesota this weekend, with cooler showery unsettled weather in the north.

Scattered showers linger in the north through Sunday.

Look for scattered showers in northern Minnesota with weekend highs in the 50s. Southern Minnesota will see a bit more sunshine and just a slight chance of a shower with highs in the 60s. Saturday will feature brisk gusty southwest winds at 15 to 30 mph. Sunday will feature lighter winds from the west at between 10 and 20 mph.

Saturday features gusty southwest winds.

Gulf oil spill comes ashore:

Weather conditions will feature steady brisk southeast to south winds along the Gulf Coast this weekend. That will drive the oil slick on the surface of the Gulf Coast onto shore. Trajectory forecasts put the plume into the Louisiana coastline first, followed by Mississippi, Alabama and eventually Florida by early next week.

It is tragic to watch the oil slowly move ashore knowing that the leak is spewing more oil each day 5,000 feet below the surface. What satellites and video can see on the surface is only a small portion of the total oil that is lurking below in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico. Keep track of the lastest developments from NOAA here.

PH