It’s April For Heaven’s Sake

It’s not winter but also not summer. It has parts of each and they’re fighting like some sort of global hormonal imbalance.

Spring is the climatic equivalent of being a teenager!

Remember your teen years? Not a kid. Not an adult. Spring is similar. It’s not winter but also not summer. It has parts of each and they’re fighting like some sort of global hormonal imbalance.

We saw low 50s today. It still doesn’t feel like spring! Here’s the 4:00 PM observation from Bradley:

KBDL 021951Z 29012G24KT 260V320 10SM FEW060 BKN080 BKN200 11/M03 A2944 RMK AO2 PK WND 28027/1935 RAB09E20 SLP969 VCSH SE AND W-NW P0000 T01061028

Buried in that mess of digits is “RAB09E20.” It’s saying rain began at 3:09 PM and ended at 3:20. Just a trace fell. It was enough to make the low fifties underachieve.

Spring is a season of unstable airmasses. That’s especially true when it’s mild at groundlevel and cold up in the clouds. Parcels of air rising from the heat of the day become very buoyant which can lead to storminess.

The radar had that unstable look today. There were dozens… maybe hundreds of tiny individual showers between the Great Lakes and New England.

Tomorrow a stronger area of instability will move to the eastern edge of the Great Plains. There’s a chance of severe thunderstorms or even tornadoes from Lake Erie to the Rio Grande!

That system’s here Monday bringing rain and temperatures which will eerily continue rising long after the Sun’s gone down. The thunderstorms probably won’t make it this far east.

The rest of the week is up and down–not quite spring, not quite winter, though still the chance of a smidge of wintry weather. Not a lot. Not on the shoreline. Still, we’re in April for heaven’s sake.

6 thoughts on “It’s April For Heaven’s Sake”

  1. Yup, felt the raindrops while out in the yard cleaning up the mess from the winter months. Raked, seeded, ferilized, airated, for what seemed like, well…..all day. Saw the sky turn dark out of the North, and then the drops came. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day, with less instability. You’re right Geoff, it’s April!!

  2. Geoff, You have such a great way of explaining the weather to us normal people. ;o) Have you ever considered becoming a teacher? Science or meteorology?

    1. Mary,

      A number of people have suggested this. My academic credentials are short of what is commonly required. Schools (rightfully) expect you to qualify to their standards.

      1. Geoff –
        I sent you an email (to the address on this site) a couple of weeks ago – – don’t know if it’s a route you’ve considered or not.

  3. I experienced a smattering of rain today coming back from the movies with my daughter. Same after a mall run. Too cold at the shore with the strong wind to go for a bike ride, so we opted for a movie and some shopping. For what?? Shorts of course!! LOL

  4. Geoff, this is really 2 subjects. First, I’m able to use the Free File and used Turbo Tax to get my refund. All went fine until somebody put through my form checking off the Checking button for direct deposit instead of the Savings button. Since I had the Savings Account number in there and Webster Bank apparently couldn’t see I have 2 accounts with them, they sent the check back to the IRS and it had to be mailed..a 3 week delay. I like getting a refund, too.

    The 2nd is, my birthday is April 26th and most years it rains, and you never know how chilly it’s going to be. My youngest brother was born March 30th in what my late father called “mud season”. Spring was Fire Season, too, as Dad was a Fire Warden who put out brush fires. We never count on spring being snow-free until after April 9th, though, as my 2nd brother was born during a snowstorm then (1956). I remember because I was almost 9 and we lived on Chippens Hill, the western side of Bristol. Charlie was born in the morning and I remember Dad calling the city to have our street plowed out so he could get Mom to the hospital. I just take hope in emerging crocuses and then daffodils and hope the weather improves. Now I come here to get your take on it, dreaming Channel 8 wakes up and begs you back!

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