Tale of Two Different Aprils

Cedar Point in late April

It's hard to believe but temperatures for the first 3 weeks of April were well above normal. I've mentioned this fact to many people and they don't believe me.  Of course since then, the average temperatures have been anything but warm. The recency effect, as I've written, has certainly played a part in most people's perceptions of the April temperatures as a whole. Here are the numbers and handy pictures:

The first 20 days of April were above normal for not only Ohio but much of the US.

It was the 4th warmest first 20 days of April in Cleveland since 1871! The only years warmer were 1945, 1955 and 2010.

 Then the bottom fell out since then...

The temperatures across not only Cleveland but the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and portions of the Deep South were well below normal. The period from April 21 through April 28 was the 7th coldest on record. The last year which featured a colder late April was 1940!

Luckily, the forecast for the beginning of May is showing a nice warm up. Expect temperatures in May to average above normal.