If April showers truly do bring May flowers, we should soon be smothered in blooms. Gray skies and rain pretty much describe the kind of April we’ve had this year. A total of 11.95 inches brought Blue Jay Barrens a new record rainfall for the month. The old April record was 8.90 inches set in 1998. We also tied the record for total rainfall in any month. That record was set in March 1997, but unlike this month’s total, most of that rain fell as a single event. It’s really interesting that last year our April rainfall total was only 1.3 inches. That’s quite a difference in growing conditions from one year to the next.
Our weather pattern is predicted to stay much the same through May, but there’s a feeling of relief as the last of the April storms moves out and we are reacquainting ourselves with blue skies and sunshine.
April was also a tiring month. Most of the violent storms seemed to come through in the middle of the night and I spent many nights watching the weather radars, wondering if I was going to have to wake my wife and hurry her to the cellar. This harmless cloud is displaying a downward cone that’s a reminder of what all of us feared and many experienced during this record breaking month.
There’s still storm damage that needs to be taken care of. The barn, partially hidden in the lower center of the photo, lost some shingles during a couple of storms. One storm left about a dozen shingles scattered around the yard. During an earlier storm, I watched a patch of shingles detach and disappear upward. I never found any trace of those shingles, so I guess they’re somewhere far to the east of me.
A trail of small clouds races across the sky to keep pace with the departing storm. At this point, I always worry about those people to the east who are seeing the storm as an approaching threat and I hope that they have a safe encounter.
Here’s the reward for surviving one of the stormiest months on record. Maybe this is a sign that things are going to improve and we can all get to those activities that we look forward to in the spring.
If April showers truly do bring May flowers, we should soon be smothered in blooms. Gray skies and rain pretty much describe the kind of April we’ve had this year. A total of 11.95 inches brought Blue Jay Barrens a new record rainfall for the month. The old April record was 8.90 inches set in 1998. We also tied the record for total rainfall in any month. That record was set in March 1997, but unlike this month’s total, most of that rain fell as a single event. It’s really interesting that last year our April rainfall total was only 1.3 inches. That’s quite a difference in growing conditions from one year to the next.
Our weather pattern is predicted to stay much the same through May, but there’s a feeling of relief as the last of the April storms moves out and we are reacquainting ourselves with blue skies and sunshine.
April was also a tiring month. Most of the violent storms seemed to come through in the middle of the night and I spent many nights watching the weather radars, wondering if I was going to have to wake my wife and hurry her to the cellar. This harmless cloud is displaying a downward cone that’s a reminder of what all of us feared and many experienced during this record breaking month.
There’s still storm damage that needs to be taken care of. The barn, partially hidden in the lower center of the photo, lost some shingles during a couple of storms. One storm left about a dozen shingles scattered around the yard. During an earlier storm, I watched a patch of shingles detach and disappear upward. I never found any trace of those shingles, so I guess they’re somewhere far to the east of me.
A trail of small clouds races across the sky to keep pace with the departing storm. At this point, I always worry about those people to the east who are seeing the storm as an approaching threat and I hope that they have a safe encounter.
Here’s the reward for surviving one of the stormiest months on record. Maybe this is a sign that things are going to improve and we can all get to those activities that we look forward to in the spring.
Hi Steve...I think of you and other blog friends when I here about these storms, glad to here that so far all is well...wonder if those tiny chips of wood that blew through in last weeks big wind was your shingles!! hahaha!!
ReplyDeleteLovely rainbow!!!
Hope May is good to you!!
Hi, grammie g. I was thinking of you and Renee this winter every time the weather channel predicted another 2 or 3 feet of snow for Maine. I certainly hope my shingles aren't littering your yard. If they are, I don't need them back, so you can go ahead and throw them away.
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