Monthly Weather Review. April, 1922

210 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. APRIL,1922 THE WEATHER ELEMENTS. From the Ohio Valley sout,heastward t.0 t,he coast, By P. C. DAY, Climatologist and Chief of Division. average pressures were well above the normal and this condition probably estended into t.he adjacent ocean, as PRESSURE AND WINDS. t.he mont,hly mean pressure at San Juan, Porto Rico, As has been the case during several months past, the was t.he highest of record. atmospheric circulat,ion during April, 1922, cont.inued Due to high pressure over the southeastern districts, the active, and cyclonic storms, particularly during the first prevailing winds over much of the re ion from the Great two decades, moved eastward in rapid succession, prin- Plains eastward had a stron southerk y component, while cipally from the southwestern districts. high pressure over t,hc far r$orthwest induced winds from Many of the cyclones did not reach wide proportions west.erly oints over hrge areas from the Rocky Moun- or extend as important storms into the more eastern tains t.0 t Ee Pacific. districts; however, over the central and southern Great High winds occurred over extensive areas in Kansas, Plains and in the Ohio and middle Mississippi Valleys biissouri, a.nd portions of adjoining St,ates on the 8th, the gave copious precipitatSon on a number of dates. and enera.lly over the same regmion,but extending east- '&e more important cyclones of the month occurred warfinto t,he middle Mississip 1 mid Ohio Valle s, and during the following periods: A storm central over the oyer portions of the Great LnR -es and Middle Ztlantic lower Ohio Valley at 8 a. m., March 31, had moT-ed to St,nt.es on the loth and 11th. Winds mere also high in . the middle Atlantic coast by the morning of April 1, the upper hfississippi Valley, over t,he Great Lakes, and attended by moderate to heavy precipitation over near1 along the At.lrtnt.ic coast, from New York northward on all distrkts from the Mississippi River eastward, wid the 18th to 30th. At point,s on the Great Lakes the heavy snow in the northern portions of New York and winds on trJic! 19th and 30th were the highest ever ob- New England, the depth at some points reaching 15 served in April. inches or more. The weather was mainly unsettled with On tlio Pacific coast, at Point Reyes Light, Calif., an low pressure and local rains over the interior and south- average wind velocity of nearly 33 miles per hour was western districts during the first week, and by the niorn- nisint.ainrd throughout the month, the highest average ing of the 8th a storm of considerable severity was central ever recorded for April. over the upper Mississippi Valley, with barometer read- A list of the more important storms of the month ings as low as ever observed in April at appears at the end of this sect,ion. and Missouri. This stom brought wi over the central valleys, but lost TEMPERATURE. the Great Lakes, and moved to material precipitation. This storm was quickly fol- Ini oi-hnt chaiiges in temperature were confined lowed by n second one which likewise moved into the main% t.0 the first two decades of the month, notably Great Lakes region, where it was central on the morning on the 11th and 12t.11, when they amounted to 20' or of the llth, passing thence to the lower St. Lawrence more in 24 hours over a large area from the Southern Valle during the following two days. This storm like- Plains bo t.hc Great Lak&, and on the 1Sth and 19th wise sost energ rapidly after passing over t,he Great over considerable areas from the iniddle Mississippi Lakes, but higc winds and low ressure marked its Valley east.ward. course over ortions of the Great PP ains, central valleys, The coldest periods of the month, coverino extensive and Great fakes. Rains were general and frequently arcas, wcre about the 1st and 2d over thekississippi heavy from the Plains eastward, except over some south- Vnllc , the upper Lakes and port,ions of New England, eastern distriots, and more or less snow fell in the Rocky a.nd tie South Atlantic! States; about tlie 15th to 18th in Mountains and adjacent regions. Disturbed conditions most districts from the Rocky Mountailis west,wa.rd; continued over the central valleys and most ertste-m clis- and about the 22d to 24th in port,ions of tho Ohio Valley tricts until about the beginning of the last decade, when and Middle At.lantic States. higher barometric pressure developed and more settled Minimum t,emperatures were below zero over the inore weather prevailed until near the end of the month, elevated districts of the western niountains, and were exce t for occasional local rains, particularly in the South- locally more than 10' below in some of the northern ern f'lains region, where about the 24th to 25th some Rocky Mouiitaui Stat.es. They were below freezing phenomenal rains occurred, Fort Worth, Tex., report,ing in all districts save aloii the S0ut.h Atlantic coast, over nearly 10 inches in less than 48 hours. The last few days Florida, and the iinmed iate Gulf coast region, at the of the month brou ht general rains over most distric.t.s lower elevations of Arizona and over the coast districts from the Southern 5lains eastward. of the Pacific. States. Anticyclonic areas were conlined largely to the dis- The highest, t'eniperntures were observed durin t.he tricts from the Great Lakes eastward during t.he greater first decade over most. Stnt,rs from the middle #lains part of the first two decades. By the end of the second eastwa.rd, about. t,he niiddle of the second decade in the decade, however, an anticyclone of considerable propor- Sout,herii Stmatesfrom Texas and Oklahoma eastward, tions had moved from the Pacific coast region to the micl during the last decade from the Rocky Mountains lower Mississippi Valley, and during the remainder of westward. the month pressure was relatively high over most south- As a whole the mont,h continued warmer than normal, eastern districts. as has been the case for severd months, over most dis- The ayerage pressure for the month was above normal, tricts from the Great Plains eastward. On the other as during the receding mont.h, over rscticnlly all por- hand, it. contiiiiiecl colder thnii normal over the more tions of the upnitecl States and Canaa a, t,he only escep- western distxicts, where teniperntures decidedly below tion being a small area from southern Texas nortliwest- normal hare been tlie rule for H nuinher of months. ward into Colorado and portions of Kansas. Over t.he In portions of t,he Plateau region cold weather was far Northwest the averages were well above normal and almost continuous, aiicl thc averages for the month were also above those of the preceding month. xrnong the lowcst of record for April. Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/02/21 11:47 AM UTC APRIL, 1922. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 211 PRECIPITATION. sniall save in the mountain districts of the West and from the Lake Superior region westward and southwest- The distribution of the reci itation during April, 1922, ward to the Dakotas and Iowa and over the northern is aphicall shown on &Part V of this REVIEW. portions of New Tork and New England. generaT the month had decidedly more rainfall than In t.he western mountains snow was heav , the total is normal1 received in April over a large part of t.he fnlls ranging up to 4 feet or more at some oP the higher central valT eys and portions of the'near Southwest. This elevations in Colorado, Wyoming, and ad'acent States, was particular1 true from central Tesas northeastwnrcl and nearly as heavy fnlls were reported fJrom many of to the lower 0TI io Valley, where the monthly amounts the higher elevat,ions of t.he Plateau region. In the ranged u to as much as 18 inches, md in portions of Cascades heavy snows were reported from the higher Kansas, Gklahorna, and nearby points, the precipitation elevations of Washington, with soniewhat less in Oregon. was the greatest of record for April. Precipitation was In the Sierra of California the amounts were usually about also above nornial in tho Rocky Mountain and Plnt.eau the a.verage for April. re ions, and locdly in the Sout,h Atlantic States. ftwas less than normal in most Atlantic coast sections, RELATIVE HUMIDITY. along the East Gulf coast, over the Florida peninsula, and generally over California, Oregon, and portions of For t.hc country ns n whole, the relative humidity was adjoining States. In cenbral and southern Georgia and distinctly above nornial, only a few lodities having generally over Florida, the month was distinctly dry, no areraoea appreciably less. fiotable excesses were re- precipitation occurring during tshe entire month in por- porte8 from the Rocky Mountain ancl Plateau regions, tions of southern Florida, and no material rains occurring and they were only slightly less in the Ohio, Mississip i over large areas in those States. anc~lower Missouri valleys. Important negative lei partures were observed in the Great Valley of California, SNOWFALL. nncl there were small areas having humidity averages for the month less than normal in the A palachian As may be expected in April, snow occurred over a wide Mountains, the Middle Atlantic States, and tg e Florida estent of the country, but.

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