National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Heat Continues for the East and South-Central U.S.; Strong to Severe Storms Across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

The extremely dangerous heat wave continues across the East Coast and much of the South-Central U.S. today. Record high temperatures are expected for some areas especially across the Mid-Atlantic where extreme heat risk conditions reside. There is a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) of severe thunderstorms today for the northern Mid-Atlantic into portions of southern New England. Read More >

April 2011 Review

 

From wildfires and drought to tornadoes and hail, there were numerous weather headlines during April 2011.

A severe weather event began the evening of April 10.  During the early morning hours April 11, two tornadoes were spotted in Johnson County, including one in Alvarado.  There were also confirmed tornadoes in Forney (Kaufman County) and in Hunt County.

Another severe weather event followed on April 14 with numerous hailstorms.  Hail as large as 2 inches in diameter impacted portions of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.  The strong cyclone that produced the severe weather brought strong gusty winds to North Texas the following day.

On April 15, wind gusts in excess of 50 mph spread numerous large wildfires across hundreds of square miles.  (The image below shows the smoke being carried by the strong winds.)  The massive wildfire at Possum Kingdom Lake charred nearly 150,000 acres.  The blaze consumed 166 homes and 2 churches before finally being contained nearly 2 weeks later.

 

Smoke from Wildfires

 

Consecutive days of severe weather ended with one of the more prolific tornado outbreaks in recent years.  On April 23, a tornado was spotted in Comanche County.  Several more tornadoes were reported on April 25.  This included twisters in Erath, Somervell, Johnson, Ellis, and Hill as well as tornadoes in Limestone, Freestone, and Leon.  The tornado outbreak continued on April 26 with the tornadic storms shown below.

 

Tornadoes - April 26, 2011

 

 

Perhaps lost amidst the fires and tornadic storms were the consistently warm temperatures during the month. 

 

 DFW Temps - April 2011          Waco Temps - April 2011

 

April 2011 ranks among the warmest on record for both Dallas/Fort Worth and Waco.  Waco recorded its warmest average high temperature on record.

 

Dallas/Fort Worth - April Temperatures

 

 

 

Highest Maximum
Rank Temperature Year
1 83.2 2006
2 83.0 1948
3 82.7 1930
4 82.4 1925
5 82.3 2011
6 82.1 1972
7 81.3 1963
8
(tie)
81.0 1967
81.0 1954
10 80.7 1955
Highest Average
Rank Temperature Year
1 72.2 1925
2 72.0 2006
3
(tie)
71.1 1967
71.1 1948
71.1 1930
6 70.8 2011
7 70.7 1954
8 70.4 1963
9 70.1 1972
10 69.6 1955
Highest Minimum
Rank Temperature Year
1 62.0 1925
2 61.2 1967
3 60.8 2006
4 60.3 1954
5
(tie)
59.5 1963
59.5 1930
7 59.4 2002
8 59.2 2011
9 59.1 1948
10 59.0 2001

Waco - April Temperatures 

 

Highest Maximum
Rank Temperature Year
1 86.1 2011
2 85.6 1925
3 85.4 1902
4 84.4 2006
5 84.1 1930
6 83.4 1948
7 83.1 1954
8
(tie)
82.9 1972
82.9 1967
82.9 1963
Highest Average
Rank Temperature Year
1 75.1 1925
2 74.0 1967
3 72.8 2006
4 72.5 2011
5
(tie)
72.0 1963
72.0 1954
7
(tie)
71.9 1965
71.9 1930
9
(tie)
71.7 1929
71.7 1902