April 2024 – Warm and Dry Across Delaware

April Temperatures

Preliminary data indicates that the statewide average temperature in April was 55.7° F, which is 1.3° F above the 1991-2020 mean value of 54.4° F (Figure 1).  April’s temperature was tied with April 1915 and April 1981 as the 14^th warmest since records began in 1895.   

April Precipitation

Delaware’s statewide precipitation for April 2024 averaged 2.43 inches, 1.05 inches below the 1991-2020 mean of 3.48 inches (Figure 2).  April’s precipitation was in the bottom one-third of values over the last 130 years.

Statewide Spatial Anomalies

Data from the Delaware Environmental Observing System (DEOS) show that temperature departures were positive across the entire state (Figure 3) with most locations seeing positive anomalies of between 1° F  and 3° F during the month.  Precipitation anomalies were mixed across the state, with positive anomalies found across the northern one-half of Delaware and larger, negative departures covering Sussex County (Figure 4).

National Anomalies

Temperatures were above normal across nearly the entire country with positive anomalies of 5° to 7° F found in the Great Lakes Region (Figure 5). Only the Northwest portion of the country saw near or just below normal temperatures.  Precipitation departures were positive across the Great Lakes Region (Figure 6), while the northern Pacific Coast and southeast U.S. saw generally below-normal precipitation.  The 500 hPa height pattern for April showed no strong jet stream anomalies (Figure 7) across the U.S.

Global Anomalies

April 2024 ranked as the warmest April on record for the globe since 1850.  Global temperatures were 1.32° C (2.38° F) above the 1901-2000 mean.  Particular warmth was found across much of the Arctic and in portions of eastern Europe and eastern Asia (Figure 8).

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