StormTrack Blog

Normal High/Low:

May 1      66° / 43°

May 31   76° / 54°

Records:  95° / 25°

Normal Rainfall:  3.14″

Sunrise & Sunset:

May 1      6:32 am / 8:33 pm

May 31   6:04 am / 9:02 pm

Toledo Express Airport recorded 6.33″ of rainfall, making it the second rainiest April on record.  This amount was 3.09″ above normal.  The period of April 16-28 produced 4.53″ of rain.  It rained on 22 days of the month, representing 73% of the month.

Temps worked out to near normal (the cool spells and warm days balanced out), ranging from 25° on the 3rd to 84° on the 10th.

The next chance of rain is later Saturday night, so we will probably get to May 1st with no additional rainfall.  This brings the monthly total to 6.33″, making it the 2nd wettest April on record in Toledo.  It is also 3.29″ above normal.

April rainfall for Toledo Express has now hit 6.29″, which is now 3.25″ above normal.  This makes it the 2nd rainiest April on record.

We would need to receive 0.84″ of rain before midnight Sunday morning to tie the #1 record spot, but it looks like any additional rainfall between now and then would not be very heavy.

Here are some wind gusts from 4-6 am this morning:

• 68 mph – Findlay
• 67 mph – Lima
• 60 mph – Perrysburg, Sandusky, Metcalf Field
• 46 mph – Monroe
• 41 mph – Defiance
• 40 mph – Monroe
• 38 mph – Hillsdale

Having severe weather this time of year is not unusual at all.  The amount of it, though, is running way ahead of normal levels.

So far this month, 886 tornadoes have been reported in the United States.  Surveys and studies are still being conducted on confirming how many reports were actual tornadoes.

Last April, the number of actual tornadoes was 139 (226 in 2009 and 189 in 2008).  The “normal” amount of April tornadoes runs around 185.

The number of reported tornadoes for the year thus far is 1078.  For this period, the normal value is around 378.  (Again, “reported” tornadoes does not mean officially confirmed–since multiple reports of the same tornado can be included).

So far this year, 45 people have died in 15 tornadoes.  This represents the same amount killed in ALL of 2010 in 21 tornadoes.

May, June & July are very active months, with June being the statistical high point of tornado occurrence.  So, the severe season has a long way to go.

Updated total for April rainfall is 5.99″ as of 4 pm today.  This makes it the 3rd wettest April on record.  We could go higher — there is the potential for another 1″+ rain before rain shuts off later Thursday.

Here are links to the latest river levels and forecasts from the National Weather Service.  Please continue to check the links if you live near a river, as the forecasts will be updated every few hours. 

Northwest Ohio River Levels

Northwest Ohio (closer to Indiana border)

Southeast Michigan

A rainfall accumulation of around 2.5 inches or more between Sunday night and Thursday would push our monthly total over 7″.  This would make April 2011 the wettest on record for Toledo Express Airport.  If rainfall this week falls short of 2″, it would still put this month into the top 5.

After seeing some decent rainfall over the last week, more is in the forecast for the week ahead.  Occasional showers and thunderstorms could dump 2 to 5 inches of rain between Monday morning and Thursday morning.  We will continue to monitor the situation for any flooding concerns.