April Weather Facts

On April 1...

1993: Above normal rainfall and snowmelt contributed to extensive flooding along the Mississippi River over almost the entire month. While most locations reached 3 to 4 feet above flood stage, some gauges were twice that high.

On April 2...

1982: 56 tornadoes ripped through parts of TX, LA, MS, TN, AR, OK, KS, MO, KY, IL, and IN. 30 people died and 383 were injured.

1964: A severe thunderstorm produced tornadoes causing up to F2 damage and dropped hail that measured up to 2.5 inches in diameter in parts of Illinois.

2006: A line of severe thunderstorms moved through Central Missouri into Eastern Missouri and Central Illinois in the afternoon producing 9 tornadoes (5 F0, 1 F1, 3 F2), damaging winds in excess of 70 mph and pea to baseball sized hail. Over 200,000 people lost power. Unfortunately, there were two fatalities. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 3...

1936: The lowest temperature on record at St. Louis for the month of April (20 degrees) was recorded.

1974: In St. Louis county, hail measuring up to 2.75 inches in diameter was produced by a severe thunderstorm.

1981: The highest wind occurrence on record for St. Louis (83mph) was recorded. That same day, a tornado causing F4 damage was responsible for 32 injuries and 25 million dollars in damage in Madison county in Illinois.

On April 4...

2003: In Clinton county, a severe thunderstorm produced a tornado and severe winds (57mph/50kts) in Clinton county Illinois.

On April 5...

1920: The lowest temperature on record at Columbia (14 degrees) for the month of April was recorded.

1929: The lowest temperature on record at Quincy (15 degrees) for the month of April was recorded.

1994: In central Missouri, a mixture of rain, sleet, and snow developed late in the afternoon. In east central Missouri, cold temperatures and sleet overnight produced a layer of glaze and ice on several highways and bridges. A 50 car chain reaction accident happened on Highway 40 near Forest Park in St. Louis during the morning commute on the 6th.

On April 6...

1964: In Boone county, a thunderstorm produced winds of over 57mph (50kts)

On April 7...

1980: A tornado causing F3 damage affected St. Louis and St. Charles counties producing 2.5 million dollars in damage.

On April 8...

1999: A tornado outbreak produced 5 separate tornadoes that caused F2 damage in Knox, Boone, Lewis, and Pike counties in Missouri and Pike county in Illinois. The outbreak was responsible for 7 injuries.

1994: 7-9 inches of rain fell over a 3 day period causing the Missouri River at Boonville to rise 14 feet and at Hermann to rise 19 feet.

2007: The county warning area saw a freeze that did extensive damage to crops around the area. Some of the counties in our area were declared disaster areas by the USDA Farm Services Agency. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 9...

1973: The worst April blizzard for Northern Missouri occurred with up to 1 foot of snow. Wind gusts of 60mph piled drifts 6-10 feet high, leaving many motorists stranded. One death occurred.

On April 10...

1930: The highest temperatures on record at Columbia (93 degrees) and Quincy (92 degrees) for the month of April were recorded.

1997: A spring snowstorm caught many residents of central, northeast and east central Missouri by surprise when 2 to 4 inches of snow fell from central to northeast Missouri while a band of 4 to 6 inches fell across east central Missouri. The snow cancelled many outdoor activities, including the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. It was the first time since April 17, 1983 that a Cardinals home game was snowed out.

2001: A Supercell produced hail ranging from 1 to nearly 3 inches in diameter. Thousands of homes and automobiles were damaged. At Lambert St. Louis International Airport, 22 TWA jetliners suffered minor hail damage, and the Missouri Air National Guard had at least 10 fighter aircraft severely damaged.

2013: A severe squall line brought 60 to 100 mph wind gusts and three tornadoes to the St. Louis Area. Most of the damage was in northern St. Louis County by the EF2 tornado that moved from Bridgeton to Florissant. Two other tornadoes were produced; an EF0 in St. Louis City and an EF1 in northern Franklin County. There was extensive tree damage and damage to apartments and houses. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 11...

1893: A tornado causing F4 damage killed 12 people and injured 40 in Crawford county.

On April 12...

1945: A moderate (F2) tornado ripped through Adams county causing $2.3 million in damage.

1981: In Jefferson county, hail measuring up to 4.0 inches in diameter was produced by a severe thunderstorm. In Franklin county, hail measuring up to 3.0 inches in diameter was produced.

On April 13...

1981: In Pike county in Missouri, hail measuring up to 4.5 inches in diameter was produced by a severe thunderstorm.

1998: A tornado causing F1 damage was produced by a severe thunderstorm in St. Louis county. The tornado was responsible for over 2.5 million dollars in damage.

On April 14...

2002: In Marion county in Missouri, hail measuring up to 4.5 inches in diameter was produced by a severe thunderstorm near Palmyra.

On April 15...

1994: In Jefferson City, a severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust of 71mph that was recorded at the airport.

2011: A supercell crossed through Pike County, MO producing an EF1 tornado that moved northward. Several trees were uprooted with some damage to a farmstead and some machine sheds. Winds were about 90 to 95 mph. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 16...

1995: In Gasconade county, an Easter Sunday hailstorm covered a 1/4 mile section of Highway 19 with 4-5 inches of ice.

On April 17...

2013: A slow moving system crossed the area bringing heavy rainfall and two tornadoes. The tornadoes were near Paris, Mo and were rated EF1 and EF0. There was tree damage and some structural damage. Flash flooding resulted from the heavy rainfall. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 18...

1880: A tornado causing F4 damage killed 18 people and injured 90 in Moniteau, Cole and Calloway counties

1883: 2 separate tornadoes causing F4 damage killed 13 people and injured 80 in Greene and Macoupin counties. These were both part of an outbreak that resulted in a total of 11 tornadoes killing a total of 25 people and injuring 158.

2008: An earthquake occurred with a magnitude of 5.4. The epicenter was near West Salem, IL and Mount Carmel, IL. Tremors were felt as far west as Kansas City and Nebraska, as far south as Atlanta, as far north as Michigan, and as far east as West Virginia. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 19...

1916: A tornado causing F4 damage killed 2 people and injured 5 in Moniteau and Cole counties.

1927: A tornado causing F4 damage killed 11 people and injured 63 in Lincoln, Calhoun, Greene, and Macoupin county.

2011: A severe weather outbreak moved through the CWA in two waves. The first round brought very large hail to parts of central and eastern Missouri. The second round produced large hail, damaging winds, and 6 tornadoes (1 EF0, 2 EF1, 2 EF2, 1 EF3). The EF3 was in Girard, IL and so were the two EF2s. The EF3 did moderate damage to multiple homes and farmsteads. Fortunately no fatalities. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 20...

1904: Columbia recorded its latest snowfall ever with 0.8 inches of snow.

2000: Winds of up to 69mph (62kts) were experienced in Pike, Calhoun, Jersey, and Greene counties in Illinois.

On April 21...

1967: A tornado causing F4 damage was responsible for 2 injuries in Knox county. This tornado was part of an outbreak that produced 45 tornadoes in the Midwest including 13 in Missouri, 17 in Illinois, and 10 in Michigan.

1974: In Monroe county in Missouri, hail measuring up to 2.75 inches in diameter was produced by a severe thunderstorm.

2005: Initially individual storms moved through the area. One in particular produced baseball sized hail, and possibly a tornado. Later in the day, the storms evolved into a solid line producing winds of 40 to 50 mph along Interstate 70 between Columbia and St. Charles. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 22...

1944: Between the 22nd and 23rd, 6.29 inches of rain fall at St. Louis. This is the 6th greatest 24-hour total amount of precipitation for that location.

2011: Two tornadic supercells ripped through the St. Louis area producing a total of 5 tornadoes. An EF4 moved through St. Louis County into Madison County, IL. Lambert St. Louis Airport had significant damage along with neighborhoods and municipalities. Luckily there were no fatalities. The same cell also spawned an EF1 tornado in New Melle and an EF2 tornado that moved through Madison, Clinton, and Bond Counties. The fourth tornado was produced by another cell and was rated EF2 in Monroe County, and the final tornado was rated EF1 in St. Clair County. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 23...

1975: A tornado causing F4 damage formed in Shelby county.

2010: A classic supercell made its way through southern Warren County into Lincoln County in Missouri. It produced an EF0 tornado northwest of Warrenton and moved to northeast of Silex. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 24...

1880: 2 tornadoes causing F4 damage killed 1 person and injured 12 in Jersey, Greene, and Macoupin counties.

1986: The highest temperature on record at Quincy (92 degrees) for the month of April was tied.

2002: Severe weather moved through the CWA from the northwest. The main threats were hail, damaging winds, and some tornado damage. For the majority of its life the tornado was labeled as a F2 and it began just south of Fredericktown. More information can be found in our events archives.

2010: A Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) moved through St. Louis County producing two tornadoes that moved southeast to northwest. The first was in Des Peres and was rated an EF0. The second was in University City and was also rated an EF0. There was widespread tree damage and minor damage to roofs. More information can be found in our events archives.

On April 25...

No significant events.

On April 26...

1989: The highest temperature on record at St. Louis for the month of April (93 degrees) was recorded.

1994: In Jefferson county, hail measuring up to 4.5 inches in diameter was produced by a severe thunderstorm near Arnold. Damage caused by this storm was estimated around $500K.

On April 27...

1983: Severe thunderstorms produced winds greater than 57mph (50kts) in St. Clair, Madison and Bond counties in Illinois.

1994: Tornadoes, severe thunderstorm winds (50kts/57mph) flash floods, and even a mud slide were reported in parts of Franklin, Monroe, St. Clair and Randolph counties in Illinois.

2002: In the afternoon a line of thunderstorms moved through the area producing a tornado in St. Clair County, IL. The tornado was 1.75 miles and began as a F0 tornado then grew into a F1 tornado until it dissipated. More information can be found in our events archives.