| April 2009
climate report for Tucson |
| |
| April
2009 headlines |
Decade
of 2000s headlines |
| 31st warmest
on record |
Warmest
April decade on record |
| 47th wettest
on record |
Tied for
3rd driest April decade on record |
| 5th
warmest January-April period on record |
|
| |
| April
2009 can be classified as a "tale of two months" with the
1st half being windy at times with near normal temperatures while
the 2nd half of the month was much less windy but with warmer/hotter
daytime temperatures. |
| |
|
The first half
of the month was very active as four weather systems moved through
the area. Each of these systems packed plenty of wind but only one
produced any rainfall (11th). Peak wind gusts at the airport on
the 3rd, 10th and 15th were 46 mph, 46 mph and 44 mph respectively.
The historical average wind speed for April is 8.8 mph with the
first half of the month averaging around 9.5 mph.
|
| |
| The
second half of the month was less windy and much warmer as only a
couple of weak weather systems passed through the area. The strongest
wind gust recorded at the airport was 31 mph (20th and 25th). The
average wind speed at the airport during the second half of the month
was 6.9 mph, which is well below the historical average of 8.8 mph.
Strong high pressure over the state from the 19th to 23rd brought
the warmest temperatures of 2009 so far with highs in the 90s. The
mercury topped off at 97 degrees on the 21st, and although it was
well short of the all-time record high of 104 degrees set in 1989,
it did mark the first time since April 2000 (99 on the 27th) that
the airport recorded a high of 97 degrees or better during the month
of April. |
| |
| April
2009 goes into the record books as the 31st warmest on record
(tied with 1977) with an average monthly temperature of 67.0 degrees,
which is one degree above normal. Temperature extremes for the month
ranged from a record high of 97 degrees on the 21st to a low of 38
degrees on the 16th. |
| |
| Area
rainfall totals for the month, from the storm on the 11th, ranged
from a tenth of an inch to four-tenths of an inch, with a few spots
in the foothills and on the northeast side recording between a half
an inch to nine-tenths of an inch. Officially, the International airport
recorded just under three-tenths of an inch /0.29"/, which is slightly
above normal and ranks as the 47th wettest April on record. |
| |
| April
2009 stats |
Month
|
Normal
|
Departure
|
| Average
high temperature |
82.1°
|
81.5°
|
+
0.6°
|
| Average
low temperature |
51.9°
|
50.5°
|
+
1.4°
|
| Average
temperature |
67.0°
|
66.0°
|
+
1.0°
|
| Rainfall |
0.29"
|
0.28"
|
+
0.01"
|
| Average
daily wind speed |
8.2
mph
|
8.8
mph
|
-0.6
mph
|
|
| |
| 2009
stats thru April |
Year
|
Normal
|
Departure
|
| Average
high temperature |
75.4°
|
71.9°
|
+
3.5°
|
| Average
low temperature |
46.2°
|
44.0°
|
+
2.2°
|
| Average
temperature |
60.8°
|
58.0°
|
+
2.8°
|
| Rainfall |
1.66"
|
2.96"
|
-
1.30"
|
| 2008-09
Water Year rainfall (Oct-Apr) |
2.98"
|
5.87"
|
-
2.89"
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| The
first four months of 2009 goes into the records books as the 5th
warmest on record with an average temperature of 60.8 degrees.
The warmest January to April period occurred in 1986 when the average
temperature was 62.2 degrees. The 2008-2009 water year is at the halfway
mark with the airport currently 2.89 inches below normal. This ranks
as the 24th driest water year to date. |
| |
April decade in review: the 2000s
|
|
The month of
April during the decade of the 2000s will go into the record books
as the warmest
and 3rd driest decade on record (dating back to the mid-1890s).
The decadal average temperature of 68.1 degrees is a 1.5 degrees
warmer than the 1990s. The average decadal precipitation of 0.28"
was equal to the 1990s and the 1971-2000 normal.
|
| Decadal
average temperatures |
| 2000s |
1990s |
1980s |
1970s |
1960s |
1950s |
1940s |
1930s |
1920s |
1910s |
1900s |
| 68.1° |
66.6° |
67.4° |
63.6° |
65.2° |
66.4° |
65.7° |
65.6° |
62.7° |
63.7° |
62.6° |
| Decadal
average precipitation |
| 2000s |
1990s |
1980s |
1970s |
1960s |
1950s |
1940s |
1930s |
1920s |
1910s |
1900s |
| 0.28" |
0.28" |
0.36" |
0.24" |
0.29" |
0.42" |
0.33" |
0.16" |
0.49" |
0.36" |
0.54" |
|
| |
|
2002 (71.6°)
and 2000 (70.3°) are ranked as the 2nd and 7th warmest April's
on record
respectively. No measurable rain was recorded at the International
airport in 2002 (0.00") and 2006 (Trace)
|
| Year-by-year
statistical recap for Tucson International airport |
| Year |
Avg.
high |
Avg.
Low |
Avg.
Temp |
Precip. |
| 2000 |
86.0° |
54.5° |
70.3° |
Trace |
| 2001 |
81.4° |
51.7° |
66.6° |
0.84" |
| 2002 |
87.1° |
56.1° |
71.6° |
0.00" |
| 2003 |
80.8° |
50.6° |
65.7° |
0.04" |
| 2004 |
79.6° |
53.0° |
66.3° |
1.05" |
| 2005 |
82.5° |
53.1° |
67.8° |
0.33" |
| 2006 |
83.5° |
53.5° |
68.5° |
Trace |
| 2007 |
83.3° |
53.8° |
68.5° |
0.15" |
| 2008 |
84.4° |
52.2° |
68.3° |
0.05" |
| 2009 |
82.1° |
51.9° |
67.0° |
0.29" |
| 2000s
avg. |
83.1° |
53.0° |
68.1° |
0.28" |
| 1971-2000
normal |
81.5° |
50.5° |
66.0° |
0.28" |
| Click
on a year for full climate report previously posted. |
|
| |
|
The first two
graphs below shows the daily departure from normal, or periods of
warm/cold, for each April day from 2000 through 2009. The third
graph is the departure from normal for the monthly average temperatures.
The fourth graph is the departure from normal for the monthly rainfall.
(all years compared against 1971-2000 normals except 2000/2001 which
were compared to 1961-1990 normals).
|
|
[Daily
highs] [Daily
lows] [April
average temperatures] [April
precipitation] |
| Move
your mouse over the locations to change graphics. Click link for larger
view. |
 |
| |
|
Temperature
extremes for the decade ranged from 99 degrees on April 27,
2000 to 35 degrees
on April 11, 2001. Ten record temperatures were set/tied this
past decade (listing below is in chronological order). However,
none of these ten records were for either a daily high or a daily
low. The
last record high temperature set at the International airport during
April was back in 1996 (99° on the 24th). The last record low
temperature set at the International airport during April was back
in 1976 (34° on the 16th).
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|
| Record
type |
Date |
Record |
Previous |
Year(s) |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
9, 2000 |
67° |
64° |
1985 |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
2, 2001 |
61° |
59° |
1969 |
| Low
Maximum |
Apr.
10, 2001 |
56° |
58° |
1945 |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
15, 2002 |
66° |
63° |
1981/1966 |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
25, 2002 |
71° |
70° |
1898 |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
27, 2004 |
70° |
66° |
1977 |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
7, 2005 |
67° |
65° |
1988 |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
14, 2006 |
62° |
61° |
1934 |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
8, 2007 |
65° |
64° |
1950 |
| High
Minimum |
Apr.
14, 2008 |
65° |
62° |
2006 |
|
| |
| Three
rainfall record were set during the 2000s |
| Date |
Record |
Previous
/ Year |
| April 6,
2001 |
0.42" |
0.36"
/ 1906 |
| April 26,
2001 |
0.03"
(tied) |
0.03"
/ 1985 |
| April 2,
2004 |
0.71" |
0.60"
/ 1922 |
|
| |
| Looking
ahead into May |
| The
Climate Prediction Center
forecasts enhanced probabilities of above normal temperatures
and equal chances for either below normal, normal, and above
normal precipitation. |
| |
|
| Normal
high temperature |
90.4° |
| Normal
low temperature |
58.6° |
| Normal
monthly temperature |
74.5° |
| Record
high temperature |
111°
on May 29, 1910 |
| Record
low temperature |
32°
on May 3, 1899 |
| Warmest
May (avg) |
80.2°
in 2000 |
| Coldest
May (avg) |
64.6°
in 1905 |
| Normal
rainfall |
0.24" |
| Wettest
May day |
1.34"
on May 15, 1931 |
| Wettest
May |
1.34"
in 1931 |
| Driest
May |
0.00"
in 2002 (last of 22 occurrences) |
| |
|
|
The number
of daylight hours will increase from 13 hours 28 minutes on
the 1st to 14 hours 7 minutes on the 31st, a gain of 39 minutes.
|
|
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Glueck
|
www.weather.gov 
