Weather Eye: April showers continue, with some sunny interludes

It is difficult for me to realize we have already recorded nearly a week’s worth of weather statistics, time flies by so quickly anymore, doesn’t it? Vancouver as of midday Monday had .68 inch of rain in the gauge so far this month — close to average. The average mean temperature was about 1 degree above average despite only two of the first seven days having highs above normal. We enjoyed 71 degrees on April 4 and 73 degrees on April 5.

More showers and possible thunderstorms linger today before brief high pressure builds over us on Wednesday. Dry and warm weather for Wednesday and the first half of Thursday before more showers arrive after dark on Thursday. We keep scattered showers or light rain in the forecast into the weekend. Rainfall later this week and weekend doesn’t look impressive, only the normal April showers that we usually expect.

Scattered thunder and hail were forecast Monday. Did you observe any of those weather actions? Rainbows, anyone? I enjoy the weather in April, but more than a day or two of cold showers is beyond my tolerance level anymore. But we endure with thoughts of more 80-degree high temperatures and of course those hazy lazy days of summer.

Early last Friday morning I saw the rooftops were nice and white in my neighborhood with a good frost. Vancouver officially dropped to 34 degrees, chilly but far from the record low of 28 degrees in 2009. I still saw patches of white Saturday on Silver Star Mountain to our east, so frosts are still possible. Don’t get too anxious to set out those pretty annual flowers.

Last week, I mentioned that the earliest 80-degree high temperature in April, a sweltering 80, was recorded on April 2, 1944. I’m not seeing 80-degree weather in the near future; instead, expect crisp breezes and cooler days ahead. I bet some of you fondly recall April 2016 and wish for a repeat of that incredible month. We enjoyed six days of glorious sunshine, with temperatures consistently in the 80s, peaking at a balmy 89 degrees on April 18.

I wish I could offer a week of clear and sunny weather, but none is foreseen on the horizon. Perhaps beyond our scope of view, lost in the shadows and the silence of the unseen. I always say April, like March, is a capricious month; one moment sunny and warm, the next blustery and cold.

Be safe and take good care everyone.