GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — This past April's weather was certainly unusual, but would you expect anything less in West Michigan?
Temperatures were warmer than a typical April and much warmer compared to last April. It was also drier than usual, and much drier than 2022.
Snowfall was below-average for the month and less along the lakeshore than April 2022.
There was a little less sunshine than usual, but significantly more than last April.
Grand Rapids reached its first 60° and 70° day on April 5 when the temperature hit 71°. This was about three weeks later than the average date of March 14 for reaching the first 60°.
The first 70° day, however, was only one day past the average of April 4.
The first 80° day was reach about a week later on April 13, over two weeks earlier than the average date of May 1.
Fruit growers were concerned about the rapid cool down following the 'heat wave' as temperatures tumbled into the upper 20s to mid 30s from April 22 to 27. However, as of May 2, MSU Extension reported little to no damage from those chilly readings.
Temperatures are expected to steadily warm up throughout the rest of the week with the long-range pattern suggesting warmer and drier than average conditions through late May.
As always, watch the 13 On Your Side meteorologists for the very latest weather information on 13.1 News, our weather network on 13.2 and streaming on Roku and FireTV.
Chief Meteorologist George Lessens
George is a graduate of Penn State University working for 13 On Your Side for over 42 years. He is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM), a thirteen-time MAB® Weathercast Award Winner, two-time EMMY® Award Winner, NATAS® Silver Circle Award Winner, and Weather-Ready Nation® Ambassador.
Contact me at: GeorgeLessens@13OnYourSide.com
Follow me on Twitter @glessens and Facebook GeorgeLessensWZZM
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