Captain's Log 5 Apr '24 Warming Trend but Continued very WET!
Captain's Log
5 April 20254: Happy Friday!
The big news here at wt306 was the 4.8 magnitude Earthquake just 33 miles from the office. It was centered near Oldwick, New Jersey about 4.7 miles deep but it certainly rattled millions of people here in the Northeast at 10:22am this morning. CLICK ON IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW.
The big event that has millions of people traveling this weekend is the Total Solar Eclipse on 8 April Monday afternoon. We're still a few days out but models are hinting that the TX and South could be cloudy and stormier with potentially better viewing in New England. About 32 million people are in the path of totality from Texas to Maine.
We've had more significant flooding here in the Northeast with record wet conditions the past 5 months. For the U.S. overall the 15 November - 5 April period has been the #1 wettest in over 40 years with many areas over 30" of rain along the Coastal Northeast, Northeast Georgia, Louisiana and the Pacific Northwest which is actually drier than usual for them.
Severe weather picked up with 68 tornadoes, 169 hail events and 338 wind events over the pate couple weeks. The severe weather threat will continue to ramp up here in the core April - June season!
Last week (31 Mar - 6 Apr) across the World shows the U.S. trending -0.7F colder than last year, 14th warmest of the past 39 years with the coolest conditions in the Midwest-Northeast. Rainfall was up +24% vs last year, wettest in 7 years and 3rd wettest of the past 39 years, while snowfall was -47% vs last year but still 12th most in the 39 years for the U.S. overall. Don't tell folks in the Northeast that snow was down as it was the snowiest in 6 years with 1-3 feet in New England.
Most areas around the World were on the warm and very wet side. Ideal conditions this time of year are warm and dry for Spring seasonal sales, so not a particularly favorable week for retail sales.
This Week (7-13 April) show the U.S. trending +1F warmer than last year, warmest in 3 years and 3rd warmest of the past 39 years. Where it was snowy just a week ago in the Upper Midwest it will trend 10 to 15 degrees above average. Snowfall is down -55% vs last year, least in 18 years and 3rd least of the past 39 years nationally, while rainfall is up +103%, wettest in 9 years and 4th wettest in 39 years. The West is best for Spring seasonal sales with warmer and drier conditions.
The 6-day snowfall outlook (5-10 April) shows the big Nor'easter snowstorm exiting this weekend with heavy snow in the highest elevations of the West also winding down. The U.S. overall trend -12% less than last year, -63% below average, 10th least in 39 years with 18% of the U.S. population getting some snow.
Next week (14-20 April) shows coast-to-coast warm conditions with the U.S. trending +4.2F warmer than last year, warmest in 7 years and 4th warmest of the past 39 years. Rainfall still up +34% vs a year ago, wettest in 5 years and 16th wettest of the past 39. Expect pollen to surge and widespread allergy and asthma suffering. An uptick in seasonal Spring sales likely despite the continued wet pattern which is a negative for store traffic.
The World 2-week outlook (7-20 April) shows a warm North America and Europe. The driest conditions are in the Western half of the U.S. suggesting stronger store traffic and sales.
Spain and Eastern Europe are the warmer and drier spots while still very wet for Northern Europe (Germany, France and the U.K.).
We hope you have a great weekend. Check out our social media pages for frequent updates and some eclipse video from Niagara Falls, Canada. Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Linkedin.
Captain Kirk out.