April 2024 gave some across Interior and Northern New England their last taste of winter to kick off the month, but was otherwise rather seasonable and spring-like. It was also active at times with a few bouts of severe weather spread out throughout the month, though it was much tamer from a precipitation standpoint with many Northeast climate sites running near their normal monthly precipitation.
The first week of the month began on a rather unsettled pattern with showers and multiple waves of rain traversing the Northeast. This included stronger storms down into Virginia on the 3rd that produced scattered wind damage, leading to downed trees and powerlines. An EF-1 rated tornado also touched down in Richmond and Northumberland Counties in Eastern Virginia on this day resulting in tree and structural damage. Hefty rainfall totals were felt across New Jersey and Pennsylvania though it was generally cumulative enough to prevent any serious flooding issues. Further northward an unseasonably cool airmass was in place, as a Nor'easter impacted New England on the 3rd - 5th bringing strong winds, coastal flooding, and some wintry precipitation. This would ultimately be winter's last hurrah and gave many their last flakes of the season. Into the Poconos and Northern NJ some snow mixed in during the night of the 3rd into the morning of the 4th, leading to accumulations of an inch or two across these higher terrain areas. A coating to 1" (and as much as 2") was also notable across parts of the Hudson Valley and Connecticut. Into Massachusetts, a snow / sleet mix was felt and northwest of the Mass Pike a general 2 - 4" fell, whereas parts of the Worcester hills saw 4 - 7"+! Even further northward into Vermont and New Hampshire, this system fell as predominantly snow where significant to major snowfall totals were felt. Also notable during the first week was an exceedingly rare magnitude 4.8 earthquake that shook parts of New Jersey and New England. In fact, this was the first time a magnitude 4 or higher earthquake had occurred in New Jersey in well over 100 years!
[10:30am] We have received several reports of an earthquake felt here in southern New England around 10:25am. Preliminary reports from the @USGS indicate a M4.8 earthquake was recorded in north-central NJ. Please refer to the the USGS for more information! https://t.co/0WXqzORr9e pic.twitter.com/2IcDYpctfh
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) April 5, 2024
Tweet from NWS Boston pertaining to the earthquake that occurred across North Central New Jersey on April 5th, 2024.
The start of the second week of the month then trended much drier for a few days before additional light showery activity worked across the east coast on the 10th and 11th. This was followed up by waves of rain, storms, and downpours at night on the 11th ahead of the next organized system that brought some stronger, gusty storms across Virginia. Elsewhere, rainfall amounts weren't excessive though it remained soggy across the Northeast in the days that followed. An advancing cold front then brought some strong storms across Central and Eastern PA on the 14th with additional severe storms occurring in Maryland and Virginia on the 15th that produced wind damage and quarter to golf ball sized hail. The following week brought days of drier weather mixed with more rounds of showers. Conditions also trended cooler across much of the east coast into the last week of April with stretches where temperatures ran 5 to 15 degrees below average with some rather chilly nights. Otherwise, the last week of the month brought more of the same, with showery activity and some dry days. Temperatures then rebounded during the last few days of April with highs trending to much more summerlike levels with 80s and 90s across the Mid-Atlantic and 70s and 80s across parts of New England, particularly away from the coast. As such, daily record highs were set across some Northeast climate sites. Furthermore, some stronger storms also closed out the month on the evening of the 30th leading to isolated wind damage and large hail reports across Eastern PA.
A little frost photography from our office pic.twitter.com/Qq4UR6gzaL
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) April 26, 2024
Tweet from NWS Mt Holly of early morning frost at their office on April 26th, 2024.
Overall, highs and lows averaged out to make for a seasonable month of April with temperatures that ran just a degree or two above average. From a precipitation standpoint it was a much tamer month with anomalies finishing near normal. Exceptions to this included across parts of New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania that finished in a surplus of 0.5 - 1", whereas parts of Virginia actually finished the month in as much as 1 - 2" in a deficit.
