ZCZC ARBCLMDTW
CXUS53 KDTW 012008

CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR DETROIT - APRIL 2003
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
400 PM EDT THU MAY 1 2003

...NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURE MONTH WAS ANYTHING BUT...
...WORST ICE STORM IN YEARS HITS MAINLY DETROIT'S NORTHERN SUBURBS...
...MOTHER NATURE "FOOLS" US LATER WITH NICE WEATHER ON APRIL 1ST...
...NINTH SNOWIEST APRIL ON RECORD IN DETROIT... 

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. OH, APRIL FOOLS DAY ITSELF 
/1ST/ WAS NICE ENOUGH WITH SUNNY SKIES AND HIGH TEMPERATURES SURGING 
UP INTO THE LOWER TO MID 70S. IT WAS A FEW DAYS LATER ON THE 3RD WHEN 
THE WEATHER TOOK A TURN FOR THE WORSE AND 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. AS 
THE FRONT SANK SOUTH INTO THE NORTHERN OHIO VALLEY ON THE 3RD-4TH...
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 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 SOME REPORTS OF ICE 
THICKNESS UP TO AN INCH. 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. 

IF THE ICE STORM WAS NOT ENOUGH...MOTHER NATURE GAVE US A ONE-TWO 
PUNCH DURING THAT FIRST WEEK OF APRIL. ANOTHER STORM MOVED UP THE 
OHIO VALLEY ON THE 7TH AND DUMPED GENERALLY 3 - 6 INCHES OF SNOW OVER 
EXTREME SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN WITH LESSER AMOUNTS FARTHER NORTH. 
THIS SNOW MADE APRIL THE 10TH SNOWIEST APRIL ON RECORD AT DETROIT WITH 
4.9 INCHES FALLING (ANOTHER TENTH OF AN INCH FELL ON THE 5TH) FOR A 
GRAND TOTAL OF FIVE INCHES. A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 33 ON THE 8TH
WAS THE COLDEST APRIL 8TH EVER SEEN IN DETROIT.

BY THE 10TH (AND JUST LIKE THE MONTHS OF DECEMBER AND MARCH)... 
TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN AVERAGED 6 TO 12 DEGREES 
BELOW NORMAL. SO INTENSE WAS THE COLD FOR EARLY APRIL THAT THE SOIL 
TEMPERATURE HERE AT THE NWS IN WHITE LAKE...RATHER THEN RISING WITH 
THE ONCOMING SPRING...FELL FROM 46 DEGREES ON APRIL 2RD TO 32 BY THE 
6TH AND PRETTY MUCH REMAINED THERE UNTIL EARLY ON THE 10TH! 

WARMER WEATHER RETURNED MID MONTH (ALONG WITH OUR FIRST 80 DEGREE DAY) 
WHEN THE TEMPERATURE SURGED TO 85 DEGREES ON THE 15TH. THIS 85 TIED
THE OLD RECORD OF 85 SET FIRST BACK IN 1976 AND ALSO...CAME A WEEK 
AFTER THE AFOREMENTIONED HIGH OF JUST 33 DEGREES. IN TIME FOR 
EASTER /20TH/ BUT ALONG WITH THE WARMER WEATHER...CAME THE STORMS. AN 
APPROACHING STRONG COLD FRONT CHURNED UP SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS 
EASTER SUNDAY AFTERNOON. MANY REPORTS OF HAIL AND HIGH WINDS WERE 
RECEIVED WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS. AFTER...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). THIS APRIL TURNED OUT TO BE THE 9TH SNOWIEST APRIL
ON RECORD IN DETROIT (AFTER A WINTER THAT WAS THE 9TH SNOWIEST... 
MUCH MORE ABOUT THE WINTER 2002-03 IN THE WINTER WRITE-UP DUE OUT 
SHORTLY). 

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. THERE WAS QUITE A DIFFERENCE 
IN RAINFALL TOTALS THIS MONTH ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. 
WHILE DETROIT JUST CLEARED TWO INCHES...TO OVER FIVE INCHES AT A FEW
LOCATIONS IN THE NORTHERN SUBURBS. HERE AT THE NWS IN WHITE LAKE OVER 
4 1/2 INCHES FELL. THIS WAS MAINLY ON ACCOUNT OF THE VERY HEAVY 
RAIN...FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW THAT FELL ON THE 3RD-4TH THAT TOTALED 
2.81 INCHES HERE AT WHITE LAKE. THE LAST TIME WE HAD A "WET" MONTH 
(OVER FOUR INCHES OF RAINFALL HERE AT WHITE LAKE) WAS ABOUT A YEAR 
AND A HALF AGO IN OCTOBER 2001 WHEN A WHOPPING 8.61 FELL.

THIS WAS THE FIRST MONTH THAT AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL (AND JUST BARELY
AND ACTUALLY WITHIN THE RANGE OF NORMAL) AT DETROIT IN SEVEN MONTHS...
THE LAST ONE BEING SEPTEMBER 2002.
                
...................................................................
  
...TEMPERATURES...                  ...PRECIPITATION...
AVERAGE MAXIMUM........... 58.9     MONTHLY TOTAL ............ 2.07                                
AVERAGE MINIMUM .......... 37.8     DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL..... -.98       
AVERAGE MONTHLY........... 48.4     GREATEST IN 24HRS/DATES... 1.06                          
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL..... +0.3                          ON THE 4TH                     
HIGHEST..........85 ON THE 15TH     2003 TOTAL................ 4.61     
LOWEST...........23 ON THE  6TH     DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.....-4.75                                                                 
 
...HEATING DEGREE DAYS...           ...NUMBER OF DAYS WITH... 
MONTHLY TOTAL.............. 499     0.01 OR MORE PRECIPITATION..  6        
MONTHLY DEPARTURE.......... -28     0.10 OR MORE PRECIPITATION..  4   
2002-2003 SEASON TOTAL.....6347     0.50 OR MORE PRECIPITATION..  2   
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL......+190     1.00 OR MORE PRECIPITATION..  1   
 
...COOLING DEGREE DAYS...           ...SNOWFALL...
MONTHLY TOTAL.......... 8           MONTHLY TOTAL...............  5.0      
MONTHLY DEPARTURE...... 2           MONTHLY DEPARTURE...........+ 3.3     
2003 SEASON............ 8           2002-2003 SEASON TOTAL...... 60.9      
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.. 2           DEPARTURE FROM AVERAGE......+16.9     
                                    (NEW 1971-2000 AVERAGE)..... 44.0
PEAK GUST - SOUTHWEST 41 MPH/15TH                                         
___________________________________________________________________

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

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