There's no better day of the year to try and fool your friends, family, or coworkers than April Fools' Day. In case you've forgotten what day it is, consider this your reminder to be vigilant of any pranks that may come your way. While the calendar says April 1st, that does not stop Mother Nature from causing memorable weather events; from early-season severe to late-season blizzards. The date even holds a special place in the world of meteorology, as April 1st is the anniversary of some notable achievements in the world of weather forecasting.
Most recent on our list is a severe weather outbreak that impacted much of the Mid-Atlantic on April 1st, 2023. Part of a larger two-day outbreak that started the day prior, across the Midwest, the environment was ripe along the I-95 corridor (especially in New Jersey) for strong thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Throughout the day, a line of thunderstorms worked eastward through Pennsylvania, reaching the eastern portion of the state by the late afternoon. Extensive wind damage was the primary impact from these storms as they approached the Delaware River Valley and eventually to the I-95 corridor. A greater amount of moisture and some low-level shear aided in the formation of some supercells within the larger squall line that pushed through.
Radar loop of the I-95 corridor from the evening of April 1, 2023.
As a result, over the course of the evening, this special cocktail of environmental conditions allowed for numerous amount of tornadoes across New Jersey and into the Delmarva. Seven tornadoes were confirmed in New Jersey, which ties the record number for the most tornadoes in a single day, which last occurred in the November 1989 outbreak. Of these tornadoes, five of them spawned from one single supercell that cut through Central Jersey. One tornado was recorded in Sussex County, Delaware, and ended up being rated as an EF3 tornado. This unfortunately resulted in the death of one person, which was the first tornado to lead to a fatality in Delaware since 1983, and only the second to be rated F3/EF3 since 1950.
A massive blizzard impacted the Northeastern U.S. from March 31st to April 1st, 1997, bringing with it the highest snowfall that entire season, despite occurring late in the year.
Seasonably warm weather preceded the onset of this storm, with Boston recording a high in the low 60s on March 30th. Given that spring was in full bloom, many retail stores removed their stock of winter gear in favor of patio furniture and similar warm season product. The winter itself had been rather lackluster, with Boston only picking up 26.5 inches of snow up to that point. By the time the blizzard was over, the city would double their season's snowfall total.
A strong cold front brought an end to the warm temperatures early on March 31, with a cooler airmass moving in. As the main low-pressure system approached the region, this began as rain, but eventually transitioned to snow by late-day. The heaviest snow developed on the night of March 31st into April 1st. Extremely heavy snowfall with rates upwards of 3 inches per hour occurred in Boston, along with reports of thunder snow across eastern New England. In just a couple of hours early in the morning on April 1st, a foot of heavy snow had accumulated.
Scene from the April Fools' Day Blizzard. Courtesy of NWS Boston.
In the end, Boston picked up 25.4 inches of snow (which is the third largest snowstorm in the city's history up to that point), and by far the largest amount of snow to occur in the month of April. Much of the region from the Poconos, the Hudson Valley, and into Central New England measured over a foot of snow, with eastern Massachusetts measuring up to 20 and even 30 inches. As one commuter commented to The Daily Courier, the storm was "Mother Nature's April Fools' Joke".
Not to be confused with the 1974 Super Outbreak that occurred only two days later (and was the largest tornado outbreak on record up to that point; the 2011 Super Outbreak superseded it), a smaller tornado outbreak occurred from April 1st to the 2nd and affected the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys.
A strong low pressure developed over the Great Plains on April 1st and pushed eastward, bringing a surge of moisture ahead of it. This ripe environment helped to produce 23 confirmed tornadoes, spanning from the Ohio River Valley to the Gulf Coast, 19 of which occurred on April 1st. Of these tornadoes, three of them were rated at F3 strength (in Illinois, Kentucky, and Alabama). Beyond the tornadoes, strong winds also impacted the region with the highest gust of 69 mph being reported in Daviess County, Kentucky.
In all, this mini outbreak led to four fatalities and upward of $3.65 million (1974) in damages.
Compared to other fields of science, meteorology in its modern sense is among the newer fields. Weather maps, which are vital visual tools to both meteorologists and the public alike, are a relatively new means of displaying current events and observations.
Sir Francis Galton was one such revolutionary in the field of meteorology. It is thanks to his contributions that the concept of the anticyclone and the weather map itself can be attributed. Galton prepared the first-ever weather map for The London Times on April 1st, 1875, depicting the weather from the previous day.
The weather map above shows conditions across western Europe, including a gradient of barometric pressure (as shown by the dotted line) and the variation in temperature from the British Isles and across mainland Europe. Weather maps would go on to become a fixture of not just the weather section of newspapers, but within all meteorological information in general.
The launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union in 1957 caused much hysteria in regards to Cold War angst. However, it would eventually pave the way for a race to develop better satellite technology that not only pushed technological opportunities for national security, but also for scientific and public use as well.
Through the late 1950s, the United States made attempts to see the Earth's weather from space, with the first weather exploration mission taking place onboard the Explorer VI satellite in 1959. However, it was'nt until the following year that the first successful weather satellite was launched into orbit. The Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS-1) was launched by NASA on April 1st, 1960. It weighed 270 pounds and held two television cameras and two video recorders.
While the satellite was only in operation for 78 days, it was able to send back over 19,000 pictures of Earth's cloud cover from its orbit 450 miles above the surface. The first images taken by TIROS-1 (shown below) were on April 1st and shows Nova Scotia in the center of the frame. Thicker areas of cloud cover also extend out from New England to the west and south.
April 1st, 2021: Tacana, Arizona saw a high temperature of 99 degrees Fahrenheit that day. The average high for that time of year is roughly in the lower to middle 80s.
April 1st, 2021: Perter Sinks, Utah also saw a low temperature of 14 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit that day. This town has been known to set record for the coldest spot in the lower 48 U.S.
