HAPPY VALLEY, OREGON WEATHER: APRIL 2022
TEMPERATURES
April 2022 was quite a chilly one as nearly every day this month averaged below Normal. In fact, only a day or two averaged more than a +1° departure from Normal. The warmest day, oddly, occurred early in the month with a Max/Min/Mean on the 7th of 73.5°/50.6°/62.1°, and no other day even came close (the second-warmest was on the 24th with 70.5°/41.2°/55.9°). The coolest overall period was the 9th-20th when Average Max/Min/Mean Temperatures were thus: 50.7°/36.2°/43.5°, a period that brought this location’s latest freezing temperature since at least 2015 when it fell to 32.3° on the 15th. In fact, each day from the 10th-12th had a colder April Daily Max. Temp. (46.5°, 43.6°, and 44.0°) than the previous coldest of 47.7° (in 2018 & 2020) at this location since 2015.
An unusual aspect of April was that, overall, it averaged colder than March. Comparing the two months’ average Max/Min/Mean Temperatures, these are the numbers:
- March: 55.9°/41.2°/48.6°
- April: 56.3°/39.5°/47.9°
April 2022’s Maximum Temperatures averaged about a -5.0° departure while Minimums averaged about a -3.5° departure (per the official Portland stations). Only three days this month had the temperature reach ≥65° and 23 days stayed ≤60°, with 5 of these remaining ≤50°. For Minimum Temperatures, 29 of the 30 days were ≤50°, and 7 reached ≤35°, with the one day reaching freezing on the 15th.
Splitting the month in two, the Max/Min/Mean Temperatures were thus:
- 1st-15th 54.6°/37.7°/46.1°
- 16th-31st 58.0°/41.2°/49.6°
The greatest diurnal range was 29.3° on the 24th (70.5°/41.2°), the least was 7.4° on the 19th (48.4°/41.0°).
PRECIPITATION
Back in April 2021, it was a very dry month with just 0.58″; not so in April 2022 as a total of 6.45″ fell (147% of Normal) and 21 days had measurable precipitation, including 9 days with ≥0.25″. Not only was this a very chilly and wet April, it was also a rare snowy one as a total of 5.0″ of very wet snow fell from the 11th-12th at this location, resulting in broken branches as many trees had already leafed (see accompanying photo). Not only was this the first measurable snow to fall in Portland in 86 years (since 1936), it was also the latest measurable snow of ≥1.0″, with snowfall records going back to 1872.
Another unusual occurrence was the large number of days with hail, which was observed in 12 separate events over 7 days this month (including 4 events on the 4th and 2 events on the 13th & 14th). Graupel was mixed with the hail on the 10th, 13th, & 14th.
≥0.25″: 9
≥0.50″: 5
≥1.00″: 1
≥0.25″: 11
≥0.50″: 5
≥1.00″: 1
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Sky Cover: 4 Clear, 17 Partly Cloudy, and 9 Cloudy days.
Barometric Pressure: Average Maximum/Minimum readings were 30.18″/29.93″, with the Highest Daily Value of 30.48” on the 6th, the Lowest Daily Reading of 29.35” on the 11th.
Relative Humidity: Maximum/Minimum Averages were 94%/56%, having a Daily Maximum of 98% on the 15th; Daily Minimum of 28% on the 7th.
Dew Point: Averages were a Maximum/Minimum of 46°/35°, with a Daily Maximum of 53° on the 30th, Daily Minimum of 26° on the 15th.
Wind: The Daily Average Speed was 1.4 MPH and the highest Daily Average was 4.1 MPH from the NNE on the 6th; the Daily Average Gust was 14.2 MPH and the Highest Gust reached 25 MPH from the WSW on the 4th.
HAPPY VALLEY MONTHLY WEATHER FORM: APRIL 2022 (click the month/year to link to the form).
Cover photo: Rare April Snowfall, 4/11/2022.