ABAK34 PAMC 052029
PNSMCG
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MCGRATH AK
1229 PM AKDT TUE MAY 5 2009
...APRIL 2009 IN REVIEW...
WHILE THE STATISTICS FOR LAST MONTH SHOW A SLIGHTLY WARMER AND WETTER
APRIL THAN NORMAL...THE DAILY NUMBERS SHOW A MUCH MORE ACTIVE
MONTH.  THE FIRST AND LAST DAYS OF THE MONTH WERE 12 DEGREES BELOW
AND ABOVE NORMAL RESPECTIVELY.  DAYS WITH OVERNIGHT LOW
TEMPERATURES BELOW FREEZING...23...WAS THE SECOND LOWEST
AMOUNT ON RECORD.  FOUR NEW RECORD DAILY TEMPERATURES WERE SET IN
THE LAST 5 DAYS OF THE MONTH...AND THE 68 DEGREE READING FROM
THE 29TH ALSO STANDS AS THE WARMEST DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE IN THE 
APRIL RECORD.  
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE LAST MONTH OF 30 DEGREES WAS NOT EVEN 1
DEGREE ABOVE NORMAL.  MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS SLIGHTLY MORE
SIGNIFICANT THAN THE TEMPERATURE.  A TOTAL OF 0.91 INCHES OF LIQUID
PRECIPITATION WAS RECIEVED...A QUARTER-INCH ABOVE NORMAL...BUT ONLY 
THE 21ST WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD.  A MAJORITY OF THIS LIQUID
PRECIPITATION FELL AS RAIN FROM THE 23RD THROUGH THE 27TH OF THE 
MONTH.  THE 6.3 INCHES OF SNOWFALL FROM THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH
WAS ALSO JUST OVER A HALF-INCH ABOVE  NORMAL. 
ASSUMING MCGRATH DOES NOT RECEIVE ANY SNOWFALL THIS MAY...THE 138.8
INCHES OF SNOWFALL SINCE SEPTEMBER WILL GO DOWN AS THE 6TH SNOWIEST
ON RECORD.  THIS AMOUNT IS 3.5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL...AND THE MOST
SNOW MCGRATH HAS SEEN SINCE THE WINTER OF 1992-1993.  ANOTHER 
STATISTIC SHOWING THE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL THIS WINTER WAS LAST 
MONTHS AVERAGE SNOW DEPTH OF 30 INCHES.  EVEN WITH NEAR NORMAL 
SNOWFALL IN APRIL...THIS AMOUNT WAS STILL AN ENTIRE FOOT ABOVE NORMAL
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SINCE OCT0BER IS 6 DEGREES...WHICH IS 2.7 
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL...BUT DOES NOT APPROACH THE 15 COLDEST WINTERS 
ON RECORD.
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD IS FROM 1971 TO 2000
THE MCGRATH CLIMATE RECORD BEGAN IN 1940
THIS CLIMATE SUMMARY IS PRELIMINARY AND UNOFFICIAL
$$
DK MAY 09