APRIL 28, 2009: A CAUTIONARY TALE

It sure has felt like summer the last few days. We hit 85 degrees on Friday, followed by a record high of 87 degrees on Saturday. Sunday and Monday both came in at 86 degrees, not quite up to the record level, but still pretty darn warm!

This is not the first time we had such a warm spell in April. In 1976, we also reached at least 85 degrees four days in a row. April 17 of that year was a toasty 86 degrees, and the 17th was even hotter at 88 degrees. The 19th checked in with 85 degrees, and the temperature hit 86 degrees on April 20. All but the 85 degree reading on April 19 were high temperature records that still stand.

The strange thing is, the heat did not last. Just one week later, on April 27, 1976, we fell all the way down to 22 degrees, which is still the record low temperature for that date. Which is to say, just because we were so warm the past four days, don’t be too sure that we have seen the last of the cold temperatures this spring.

E-mail your weather questions to weather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Kevin Carter .

APRIL 21, 2009: PRETTY QUIET SO FAR

Our weather has been pretty quiet the last couple of months. We made it through March without measurable snow for the first time in our recorded weather history, although we managed to pick up 1.6 inches of snow earlier in April. Severe weather has been hard to find as well, with just one day with the threat of severe thunderstorms on April 5.

This was our second day with the potential for severe weather this year, the other day coming way back in February. This is about par for the course around here. Since 2000, we have had either one or two severe thunderstorm days by April 21 in all but one year. The only exception was 2007, when we had eight severe thunderstorm days by now, including four in a row in mid April. br/>

Over the last nine years, we’ve averaged two severe thunderstorm days per year in April, and an average of 27 severe thunderstorm days over the entire year. Our most active April was 2007, but the eight days that month were well shy of the 13 severe thunderstorm days we had in June of last year.

April does typically lag behind the next four months in terms of severe thunderstorms. Over the last nine years, we’ve averaged nearly seven severe thunderstorm days in June, our top storm month. July checks in with an average of six severe thunderstorm days, followed by an average of about five per May and four in a typical August.

E-mail your weather questions to weather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Kevin Carter .

APRIL 20, 2009: WARMER WEATHER ON THE WAY

Talk about rainy days and Mondays. I’m sure some of you are feeling down. But brighter and warmer days are not far away!

Not at first, however. Low pressure will keep us damp and chilly Tuesday and Wednesday, and even Thursday morning will be on the cold side. But sunshine should allow us to warm up to near average by Thursday afternoon. The sun should stick around into the weekend, and temperatures will respond. br/>

I expect high temperatures to rise well into the 70’s on Friday, and with any luck at all, we should see our first 80 degree day of the year on Saturday. If we’re really lucky, the warm and dry weather will last through Sunday as well.

It’s been more than six months since we hit 80 degrees, all the way back to October 12 of last year. But it’s not all that unusual for us to wait this long for our first 80 degree day of the year. Last year we did not hit 80 until May 26, and in 2006 we waited until May 27. But the wait was not as long in 2007 (April 3), 2005 (April 6), and 2004 (April 18).

E-mail your weather questions to weather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Kevin Carter .

APRIL 15, 2009: IS THE SNOW GONE ?

One deadline has come with this tax day on April 15, but how about a weather-related one . . . a deadline for accumulating snow? We have suffered through some cool and rainy weather this week, but at least our precipitation was wet and not white.

Snowfall typically becomes rarer by this time of April, with less than an inch falling from here on out on average before the snow is gone for good. Our heaviest snow after April 15 was 8 inches on April 18, 1953. Our only other recorded snowfall of more than 2 inches this late in the snow season was 2.5 inches on April 24, 2005.

Our latest recorded spring snow came on May 9, 1966, when a half inch of snow fell. It was even heavier in Pittsburgh, where the National Weather Service recorded 3.1 inches of snow. And going by the Pittsburgh National Weather Service records, their latest spring snow was a half inch on May 25, 1925.

So, chances are we won’t add much to our seasonal snowfall total of 31.9 inches. And unless we have some record breaking snow lurking in the near future, we should come in well under our seasonal snowfall average of 40.6 inches. By this time of the year, even the snow lovers are probably ready for the snow to be gone.

E-mail your weather questions to weather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Kevin Carter .

ARPIL 14, 2009: ALLERGIES & WEATHER

Tree pollens are typically the first allergens to show-up in the spring, causing problems for up to 40 million Americans that suffer from seasonal allergies. In Southern parts of the U.S., trees may have begun producing pollens as early as January, while production may not begin until April farther north. Regardless of where you live, the weather can have a major impact on allergy season:

• A mild winter can result in earlier tree polination and an earlier start to the allergy season. If warm, mild weather continues into spring, pollen counts can rise.

• A late-freeze that follows a mild winter can reduce tree pollen production, or even halt pollen production completely for some trees.

• Windy weather increases pollen counts by spreading tiny pollens through the air.

• Rainy weather initially decreases pollen counts, but can increase pollen production later in the year by spurring growth of late-spring and summer grasses. If preceding fall or winter seasons were rainy, tree pollen counts may increase during the spring months.

Right now, Maple, Poplar, Aspen, Cottonwood, and Alder are the main allergy culprits in the Steubenville-Wheeling area, and pollen levels are medium to high. If you suffer from seasonal allergies, reduce your exposure to tree pollens by avoiding outdoor activities during the early morning when trees usually emit pollens, between 5:00 and 10:00 a.m. Keep windows closed at night to keep pollens out of your home, and keep windows closed when traveling in the car.

Email your weather questions toweather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Jeff Oechslein.

ARPIL 13, 2009: RED SKY AT NIGHT SAILOR’S DELIGHT. RED SKY IN MORNING, SAILOR’S TAKE WARNING

I took a few emails this morning concerning the red sky at daybreak. Have you ever heard the saying?: “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning sailor’s take warning.” Within limits, there is some truth in this saying.

In order to understand why “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning” can predict the weather, we must understand more about weather and the colors in the sky.

Usually, weather moves from west to east. This means storm systems generally move in from the West. The colors we see in the sky are due to the rays of sunlight being split into colors of the spectrum as they pass through the atmosphere and bounce off the water vapor and particles in the atmosphere. The amounts of water vapor and dust particles in the atmosphere are good indicators of weather conditions. They also determine which colors we will see in the sky.

During sunrise and sunset the sun is low in the sky, and it transmits light through the thickest part of the atmosphere. A red sky suggests an atmosphere loaded with dust and moisture particles. We see the red, because red wavelengths (the longest in the color spectrum) are breaking through the atmosphere. The shorter wavelengths, such as blue, are scattered and broken up.

Red sky at night, sailors delight.

When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.

Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.

A red sunrise, like the one we saw this morning reflects the dust particles of a system that has just passed from the west. This indicates that a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means a high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way.

Email your weather questions toweather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Jeff Oechslein.

APRIL 9, 2009: HOW IS EASTER DETERMINED?

The answer lies in the full moon that was shining bright last night. Here’s how it is determined: Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Vernal Equinox . This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that the Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Email your weather questions toweather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Jeff Oechslein.

APRIL 7, 2009: APRIL SNOW

After our least snowy March in at least 80 years, the snowflakes have returned in April. Snow showers began Monday evening, with a trace of snow by midnight. The snow showers continued off and on Tuesday, with a total of 1.6 inches by midnight. This broke the old snowfall record of 1.5 inches for April 7, set back in 1972.

April 7 is now our snowiest April day since April 24, 2005, when 2.4 inches of snow fell. It’s also our snowiest April as a whole since 2005, which totaled 4.5 inches for the month. The 1.6 inches of snow so far this month also guarantees this month will be snowier than average, since the normal snowfall for April is 1.5 inches. And we still have over three weeks to go!

We have already received more snow in the first seven days of April than we did in the entire month of March. The last time this happened was in 1997, when we picked up 1.3 inches of snow in April but only 0.8 inches of snow in March. But we still have a long ways to go to break the snowfall record for the month. In 1953, we recorded 9.3 inches of snow in April, so we would need five more days like today, or a big storm, to set the monthly record.

E-mail your weather questions to weather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Kevin Carter .

APRIL 2, 2009: A LOOK BACK AT MARCH

The month of March was not your typical last month of winter in the Ohio Valley. For the first time since our records started being kept in 1941, we failed to receive at least a tenth of an inch of snow. The last time this happen in Pittsburgh was 1927, so it’s probably safe to say this was our least snowy March in at least 80 years.

It wasn’t just snow that was hard to come by in March. We only received 1.48 inches of rain, nearly two inches below the monthly average of 3.41 inches. As of the end of March, we were about two and a half inches below average for precipitation for the year to date. Since the winter snowfall season began last October, we are nearly nine inches below average with 30.3 inches of snow.

The month of March was on the mild side. Our average high temperature was 54.2 degrees, 3.3 degrees above normal. The average low temperature was 31.4 degrees, which sounds cold but is still 1.2 degrees above normal. We hit 70 degrees or above four times, including the high for the month of 74 degrees on March 7 and a record high of 73 degrees on March 18. Our coldest temperature in the month was 6 degrees on March 3, but we did not set any record lows.

Not only was March free of any measurable snow, but there was also a lack of any severe thunderstorms or flooding rains. The only notable weather event besides the record high was a wind gust of 58 miles per hour recorded at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport on March 9.

E-mail your weather questions to weather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Kevin Carter .