SUBJECT: Another mild and dry month in the hopper St. Cloud April 1998 Weather Summary April 1998 was yet another mild and dry month in Saint Cloud according to the statistics kept at the St. Cloud airport. The average temperature of 48.7 degrees was more than 5 degrees above normal. This was mainly fueled by the average high temperature of 61.6 degrees, more than 6.5 degrees above normal. This made April 1998 the mildest April since 1987. Rainfall was scarce in April. Only 1.14 inches were recorded, about half of the normal amount. The second half of the month was extremely dry, with only .03 inches falling since April 12. However, this was more rain than St. Cloud received in either 1996 ( .67 inches) or 1997 ( .69 inches). The April snowfall of 1.5 inches, which all fell on April 1, amounted to a near normal snowfall for the month and brought the seasonal snowfall total to 44.9 inches, within an inch of normal for the year. This marked the second straight April with less than 2 inches of snow, a far cry from the rest of the decade. During the years 1990-1996, St. Cloud averaged 5.5 inches of snow during April. There has not been a measurable May snowfall since 1979, so both the statistics and the current weather pattern indicate that the snow season of 1997-98 is probably over (cross your fingers!) MONTHLY STATISTICS APR 1998 NORMAL TEMPERATURE (DEG F) Average high temp 61.6 55.0 Average low temp 35.7 32.0 Overall average 48.7 43.5 Warmest high temperature 78 on the 24th Coolest high temperature 39 on the 1st Mildest low temperature 54 on the 12th Coldest low temperature 27 on the 10th Records set: none PRECIPITATION Total melted precip (in) 1.14 2.36 Most in 24 hours .57 on the 7th SNOWFALL (in) 1.5 2.7 Most in 24 hours 1.5 on the 1st Seasonal snowfall (Oct-Apr) 44.9 45.6
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