April 2021: Milder and Drier than Normal, but Snow Still Falls

The bugs are out, the trees are turning green, and the flowers are sprouting. With the exception of fluke snow in the middle of the month for some, winter finally gave in as the Northeast continued to warm up through the heart of spring.

April 2021 began with a lingering low pressure system that left nearly an inch of rain across parts of New England. This wasn’t without the white stuff, however, as snow did fall in the higher elevations of the Northeast. Indeed, snow showers managed to fall all the way south into North Carolina before temperatures quickly moderated. The cold surge behind the system also sent Washington, D.C.’s low temperatures down to a record 31 degrees.

Otherwise, very little activity occurred over the first week of the month and even the early portion of the second week as a series of high pressure systems kept it quiet. Generally warm conditions also led to Boston, MA breaking a high temperature of 78 degrees on the 10th. A frontal boundary did sneak into the Mid-Atlantic, which brought Maryland and Virginia their biggest rain maker of the month on the 9th with up to 0.50 - 0.75” of precipitation. Much of it dried up before reaching into the Northeast, although the pattern did finally break down for a time around mid-month. During this period, waves of disturbances brought rain to the whole region. As a result, 1.00 - 2.00” fell up and down the I-95 corridor as they progressed.

It was this last system on the 16th that brought a sharp blast of cold air, pushing flakes down into the Hudson Valley and many parts of New England. Accumulating snow fell as far south as Taunton, Massachusetts, however, it was the higher hills of Tolland County in Connecticut and the Worcester hills in Massachusetts that received over half a foot of snow! Based on climatology, it's not that unusual to see snow this late into the season, both the prolonged absence of substantial snow since February and the heavy nature of it was pretty amazing.

The remainder of the month stayed rather progressive as temperatures oscillated above and below normal. On the 21st in particular, a strong cold front led to severe weather as far south as Hampton Roads in Virginia and north through central Massachusetts. While many reports were of wind damage, two tornado reports occurred, one in Amenia, NY and the other in Kent, CT. Mostly tree damage was observed with one home having some roof damage.

In the end, the month ended up 1.5-3 degrees above normal, but this wasn’t too out of the ordinary in terms of records. Precipitation also wasn’t extreme either way, although many cities from Baltimore to most spots in New England around an inch behind their normal. Extreme eastern portions of New England, especially around Boston, MA, saw a surplus. Boston, MA received just 0.1” of snow, which is below their 1.9” average, while Hartford, CT only received a trace of snow.