How Wet Was End of April?

April showers bring May flowers, right? Well, if we recall the last four days of the month, there should be plenty of May flowers. That is because from April 27th-30th, Rockford saw 1.13" of rainfall. Through the first 26 days of the month, we saw 1.77" of rainfall. That means we saw nearly as much rain in four days that we saw in nearly a month. Of course, we also went roughly a week without seeing any rain during the middle of the month when those warmer temperatures were present across the area.

Those numbers added together give us an April rainfall total of 2.90", which is nearly a half-inch below normal for the month. April is in the top five in terms of average monthly precipitation totals here in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Therefore, seeing below average rainfall for April is atypical, but not impossible. Does this mean we will see more rain in May? No. Simply because we see less than usual rainfall amounts in one month does not mean the following month makes up for it.

Will we see a drought develop due to a drier than average month that usually features a decent amount of precipitation? No. There is no real noteworthy correlation between April rainfall totals and drought occurrences following April. In fact, May, June, July, and August all average more rainfall than April. Thus, if anything, we are more likely to avoid a drought than to enter one!