Thankful for April showers but not the hail

It's always a plus when we report a month with above-normal rainfall because there haven't been too many of them. That's what happened in April.

Normally Austin's 10th wettest month with just 2.42", this April did much better with 4.18". Rain was measured (.01" or more) seven days. In fact, 2.43" of that 4.18" was measured on April 6 and 7, putting Austin over the normal total very early in the month.

It's the most rain measured in April since a most-welcomed 7.28" in 2019.

April 2023 is the first month with above-normal rain since November 2022 when 4.14" was measured, a surplus of 1.22". And, it's the wettest month since 5.72" in August 2022. Yes, August.

The surplus of rain was not enough to make even a dent in our ongoing drought.

The "generous" rainfall, however, came with a heaping helping of severe weather events, especially the last week of the month.

An updated report from the Storm Prediction Center shows at least 36 reports of hail from 1.00" in diameter up to a couple of reports of 2.50" (twice) at Streeter (west of Mason). The western Hill Country saw the large hail stones on the evening of April 22. Travis and Williamson counties saw the majority of the hail during the severe weather event on the afternoon of April 28. Thankfully, the month ended quietly with sunshine.

Temperatures were, in a way, 50-50 with no clear-cut warmer-than-normal or cooler-than-normal. There were 13 days when the high temperature was above normal and 14 times when the high was below normal. A series of cold fronts was responsible for the ping-ponging of temperatures during the last week of the month.

The 91° to close the month brought the average high to 79°, only slightly below normal by 1.3°. The month closed with a normal of 68.5°, just a degree shy of normal.

Here's hoping for a wet, less stormy May.