53 years since so little rain fell in April

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Harry Truman occupied the White House the last time so little April rain fell on the Seattle area.

But the cliché about April showers bringing May flowers didn't apply this year: The tulips, daffodils and cherry trees didn't seem to notice that April tied for the month's third-lowest rainfall since the National Weather Service began recording it in 1948.

Last month's 0.65 inches tied with the April 1951 rainfall, and was only one-tenth of an inch more than fell in 1977. The driest April on record came in 1956, when Seattle received only 0.33 inches of rain.

April's temperatures rose higher than usual, too. The average of 53.3 degrees (daily highs and lows included) was the third-warmest recorded. The hottest April was in 1977, when temperatures averaged 53.6 degrees.

Snowpack measurements in the Cascades, not surprisingly, are 60 to 80 percent lower than normal for this time of year, said Art Gaebel, a weather-service hydrometeorological technician.

It's not too late to build it back up a bit, he said.

"Here in Western Washington, every day the weather can change," he said.

Although the region is entering a drier season, when rainfall normally decreases each month, May usually brings about 1.7 inches of rain, he said.

In the world of meteorology, the "water year" is considered to begin Oct. 1. Since then, the region actually has received 0.8 inches more rain than average, Gaebel said. Looking just at calendar year 2004, however, area rainfall is 4 inches below normal, he said.

Looking toward this week, Gaebel offered better news for gardeners.

"We have some good springtime weather coming in — showers and drizzles and mostly-cloudy type of days," he said.

"Back to normal, good Seattle-type weather."

Diane Brooks: 425-745-7802 or dbrooks@seattletimes.com