National Weather Service Raw Text Product

999 
NOUS44 KMEG 040301
PNSMEG
ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-
MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-041515-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1001 PM CDT FRI MAY 3 2013

...APRIL 2013 MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY...

IF THERE ARE TWO WORDS THAT BEST DESCRIBE THE CLIMATE ACROSS THE 
MID-SOUTH FOR APRIL 2013...THEY ARE COOL AND WET. ON
AVERAGE...BOTH MEMPHIS AND JACKSON WERE 1.7 DEGREES COOLER THIS
MONTH WHEN COMPARED TO THE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
APRIL...WHILE JONESBORO AND TUPELO WERE 1.6 AND 0.9 DEGREES BEHIND
THE NORMAL FOR APRIL...RESPECTIVELY. SO FAR FOR 2013...THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES FOR EACH OF THE FOUR SITES IN THE SUMMARY ARE AROUND
ONE DEGREE BELOW NORMAL. AS FOR PRECIPITATION...IT WAS A RAINY
MONTH FOR MEMPHIS...JACKSON...AND TUPELO...ALL OF WHICH EXCEEDED
THE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR APRIL...WHILE JONESBOROS TOTAL
PRECIPITATION WAS JUST BELOW THE NORMAL. JACKSON SAW THE FOURTH
WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD...WITH 10.60 INCHES OF RAINFALL.
MEMPHIS...JACKSON...AND TUPELO ARE ALL ALSO EXCEEDING THE NORMAL
FOR THE YEAR SO FAR...WHILE JONESBORO IS ABOUT FOURTEEN HUNDREDTHS
ON AN INCH OF RAIN BEHIND THE NORMAL.


TEMPERATURE DATA:
                              MEMPHIS   JACKSON   JONESBORO   TUPELO
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE (APR)   :   61.2      58.3       58.3      61.2	
NORMAL AVG. TEMP (APR)      :   62.9      60.0       59.9      62.1
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL (APR) :   -1.7      -1.7       -1.6      -0.9
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE (2013)  :   50.0      46.7       46.6      50.1
NORMAL AVG. TEMP (YEAR)     :   50.9      47.9       47.3      50.9
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL (2013):   -0.9      -1.2       -0.7      -0.8

PRECIPITATION DATA:
                              MEMPHIS   JACKSON   JONESBORO   TUPELO
TOTAL SNOWFALL (APR)         :  0.00      0.00       0.00      0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION (APR)    :  6.88     10.60       4.65      5.18
NORMAL PRECIPITATION (APR)   :  5.50      4.86       5.02      4.78
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL (APR)  :  1.38      5.74      -0.37      0.40
TOTAL PRECIPITATION (2013)   : 23.83     26.39      16.53     21.94
NORMAL PRECIPITATION (YEAR)  : 19.03     17.85      16.67     19.04
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL (2013) :  4.80      8.54      -0.14      2.90


SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENTS:

APRIL 2013 BEGAN WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE MID-SOUTH 
AS SOUTHERLY FLOW PREVAILED. A POTENT UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND
ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT DEVELOPED AND MOVED ACROSS THE CENTRAL
PLAINS DURING THE SECOND WEEK OF THE MONTH...MOVING INTO THE MID-
SOUTH REGION ON APRIL 10TH. WHILE THE MID-SOUTH FAIRED PRETTY WELL
IN REGARDS TO DAMAGE...THERE WERE REPORTS OF EXTENSIVE FLASH
FLOODING...WITH SOME AREAS RECEIVING AS MUCH AS FOUR INCHES OF
RAINFALL IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS. NEAR THE END OF APRIL ANOTHER
STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT APPROACHED THE
AREA. ON APRIL 27TH...A SURGING WARM FRONT HAD DEWPOINT
TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S ACROSS THE MID-SOUTH. AS THE
COLD FRONT BEGAN TO APPROACH THE REGION DURING THE EARLY EVENING
HOURS...THUNDERSTORMS BEGAN TO DEVELOP AND INTENSIFY ACROSS PARTS
OF NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI AND WEST TENNESSEE. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING
WINDS...AND TORNADOES WERE REPORTED AND CONFIRMED WITH TWO
SEPARATE STORM CELLS. THE FIRST STORM...WHICH OCCURRED AROUND 9:13
PM...PRODUCED AN EF1 TORNADO IN FAYETTE COUNTY...TENNESSEE. THIS
TORNADO STAYED ON THE GROUND FOR ABOUT A MILE WITH WINDS AS STRONG
AS 105 MPH...CAUSING EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO SOME FARM BUILDINGS...AS
WELL AS BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE REPORTED INJURY. THE SECOND
STORM OCCURRED IN PANOLA COUNTY...MISSISSIPPI AROUND 9:55 PM...AND
PRODUCED AN EF2 TORNADO WITH WINDS AS STRONG AS 112 MPH. THIS
TORNADO WAS ONLY ON THE GROUND FOR ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF A
MILE...BUT IT PRODUCED MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE AND OVERTURNED A
FLATBED TRUCK AND AN RV. IN ADDITION TO THE TWO TORNADOES...THIS
SAME STORM SYSTEM WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR FLASH FLOODING IN SOME
LOCATIONS IN WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE...PRODUCING RAINFALL
AMOUNTS THAT EXCEEDED 5-6 INCHES. SPEAKING OF TORNADOES...THE MID-
SOUTH ONLY HAD TWO RECORDED DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL 2013.
HOWEVER...APRIL IS THE MONTH WITH THE HIGHEST FREQUENCY OF
TORNADOES ACROSS THE REGION. IN FACT...FROM 1873-2011 THE MID-
SOUTH HAD 244 TORNADOES DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL...53 OF WHICH
CAUSED FATALITIES. OF THESE 244 TORNADOES...16 WERE CLASSIFIED AS
VIOLENT (TIED WITH THE MONTH OF MARCH) AND 111 WERE CLASSIFIED AS
STRONG...THE HIGHEST FREQUENCY OF THE ENTIRE CALENDAR YEAR.
EIGHTY-THREE PERCENT OF ALL VIOLENT TORNADOES IN THIS SAME TIME
PERIOD OCCURRED BETWEEN MARCH AND MAY.

$$

ZDM