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The heat is on in the Valley as April arrives — no fooling
By DAVID SKOLNICK
YOUNGSTOWN
Photo
Geoffrey Hauschild|The Vindicator.Trent Stocker, 12 of Struthers, runs from Jacob Bova, 12, also of Struthers, during a game of Cheese Box outside the fields of Cene Park in Struthers on Wednesday afternoon
It will be unseasonably warm today through Saturday — and that’s not an April Fools’ Day joke.
The high temperature in the Mahoning Valley is forecast to reach 76 degrees today, 79 Friday and 81 Saturday.
The average high temperature for April 1 is 52 degrees, and 53 degrees for April 2 and 3, according to statistics from the National Weather Service.
That’s 24 to 28 degrees more than the normal high in the Valley for those three days.
“Enjoy the next few days,” said Martin Thompson, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in Cleveland. “It’s going to be considerably warmer than normal and sunny each day.”
If the expected high on Saturday is reached, it would be the highest temperature for April 3 in the area’s recorded weather history, which dates back to 1897. The current highest temperature for April 3 was 79 degrees in 2007.
It was only a few days ago, Monday to be exact, that the high temperature was only 38 degrees — 12 degrees less than normal for that date.
It will remain unseasonably warm Sunday to Tuesday, but the temperature will be in the mid-60s during those three days, about 10 degrees higher than average, according to the weather service’s forecast.
Snow is a distant memory, particularly with only 1.1 inches having fallen on the Valley in March — the sixth least amount of snow for that month in the area. The average amount of snowfall for March in the area is 10.4 inches.
That came after the Valley had the most recorded snowfall for the month of February with 36.3 inches, according to the weather service.
So far, the Valley has had 75.7 inches of snow fall during the 2009-10 winter weather season, which began in October.
The area’s average snow accumulation is 51.9 inches.
But it pales in comparison to the past three winters, which are the three snowiest winter seasons on record in the area.
At No. 1 is 2007-08 with 102.8 inches with 2006-07 in second place with 90.2 inches. At No. 3 is 2008-09 with 86.5 inches.
This winter season isn’t in the top 10 in the amount of snow. At No. 10 is 1987-88 with 77.7 inches.
There is a possibility of snow accumulations this month. The area averages 2.2 inches of snow in April. If that amount of snow does fall this month, this winter season would crack the top 10.