GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It may come as no surprise - April 2022 was downright dreary: it was the cloudiest on record, it ranked as the 12th wettest on record and in the top 25 coldest for April.
Let's start with sunshine (or the lack of): our records show April 2022 as the cloudiest on record with 30.1%, second to 30.6% set in 1980. It was the cloudiest since 2011.
When looking at the the combined 'dreary-factor' April 2022 came in third, behind 1950 and 1909, ranked by the cloudiest, wettest and coldest.
When taking these top nine years (plus the next awful April - 1966 to make it a top 10), 70% of the following summers were cooler than average.
Rainfall was split 50-50, with half the years getting more rain than usual and half receiving less.
More summer sunshine was favored (70%) over cloudier summers (30%).
La Niña continues to influence our weather pattern and is expected to last through the upcoming summer. Its effects lean toward slightly warmer conditions, BUT that happens less than half the time.
Predicted rainfall is evenly split, with no clear-cut outcomes for either more or less rainfall (similar to the findings above: 50-50 split).
While this may not be a predictor of what summer 2022 might be like it is certainly food for thought.
What are your thoughts?
Chief Meteorologist George Lessens
George is a graduate of Penn State University working for 13 On Your Side for 41+ years. He is a twelve-time MAB® Weathercast Award Winner and two-time EMMY® Award Winner.
Contact me at: GeorgeLessens@13OnYourSide.com
Follow me on Twitter @glessens and Facebook GeorgeLessensWZZM
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