If we look at the calendar, it tells us that March 21 is the vernal equinox, or first day of spring. It may be on paper, but in reality, we had more spring-like weather in February than we did in April.
Meteorologists tell us that April is a transitional month. That’s funny because when I was a kid, I was always told March is a transitional month. Which one is it, March or April, or both?
As it turns out, for the past 13 years anyway, March has basically had 61 days. It means that statistically, April, since 2012, has been barely warmer than the average for March.
From 1982 until 2012, however, April was much warmer than it has been in recent years. In fact, North Dakota State University presented some statistics on the month of April. In the past 50 years, 1987 was the warmest April with an average temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Contrast that to 2013 when the average April temperature across the state was 31 degrees, you see where this is going. By 2020, the average overall statewide average had risen to 33 degrees, but that’s still a far cry from 50 in the mid ‘80s.
All kidding aside, April really is a transitional month and if we look at it on paper we’ll see that. And in the history of record keeping regarding weather that goes back 125 years, as you might imagine, the month of April has had cycles of warm and cycles of cool.
Throughout that history, 1987 was the warmest on record at 50.2 degrees. But there were other years in history that came close. In 1913, the average April temperature hit 50 degrees, but slightly less than in ’87. In 1900, it was 49 and in 1890, it was 48.
Record high temperatures like that seem to be rare in the month of April these days. And if you take away those high temperature years, a more accurate average for April would be somewhere between 43 and 44 degrees.
Also throughout history, there were four years that hit traditional low average temperatures. The coldest was actually in 2013 with a 31.3 average temperature. Prior to that, there were three years, 1907, 1920 and 1950 in which the average sat at exactly 32 degrees for the average.
And to be fair, if you take away those four record cold years, a more accurate low average temperature would be 37 degrees.
We all know there can be huge temperature swings in April. KNOX radio in Grand Forks put together a list of the 10 coldest Aprils on record. Four of the top 10 have been since 2013.
It can also get hot in April. We don’t normally associate “hot” with the month of April, but check out these numbers.
Two of the four hottest days in the month of April happened in Fargo. The highest temperature recorded for the month of April in North Dakota was in Fargo on April 21, 1980 when it hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The next highest was also in Fargo, on April 30, 1992 and April 20, 1980. Bismarck had the third highest temperature for April. On April 30, 1992 and again on April 21, 1980, the temperature peaked at 93 degrees.
Williston’s temperature of 92 degrees happened on April 20, 1980.
Staying with Fargo, the lowest April temperature ever recorded there has been 7 below zero on April 1, 1975. Just two days later, the overnight dropped to 1 below.
Granted, each community has its own record highs and lows, so take that with a grain of salt. But you get the picture. It can get hot in April and it can get cold in April.
And if that isn’t enough, April is widely regarded as the windiest month in North Dakota, if there is such a thing since it seems it’s always windy. High winds are caused by the interaction of warm and cold air masses that normally happen in April.
