598
NOUS42 KMLB 032039
PNSMLB

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Melbourne FL
439 PM EDT Fri May 3 2024

...April 2024 Was Drier Than Normal with Average Temperatures Near
to Slightly Below Normal Across East Central Florida...

Only a few cold fronts were able to move through the area in April,
and any rainfall they produced was largely from weakening bands of
showers and storms, mainly during the first half of the month.
Otherwise, extended periods of drier weather occurred between these
frontal passages across the area. This led to precipitation totals
for April 2024 that were below to well below normal for a month that
is already one of the driest climatologically. Despite the limited
number of cold fronts that pushed through central Florida, average
temperatures for the month still ended up near to slightly below
normal.

...Temperatures...

Temperatures started off above normal, as highs warmed into the 80s
during the first few days of the month, ahead of an approaching cold
front. Maximum temperatures even reached the low 90s along the
Treasure Coast on the 3rd, with Vero Beach breaking their record
high for the day. Cooler and much drier air behind the front allowed
temperatures to drop to near to below normal values, with highs
falling to the 70s to low 80s and overnight lows largely in the 50s.
A quick warming trend then occurred ahead of another cold front that
pushed through late on the 11th, with Fort Pierce tying their record
high of 92 degrees that day, and a few record warm lows in the low
70s being tied on the 10th and 11th. Drier and cooler conditions
also filtered into the area behind this boundary, and led to several
days of near to below normal temperatures once again. Notably, Vero
Beach tied their record low of 46 degrees on the 14th. From around
mid-April onward, near to slightly above normal temperatures largely
dominated, with highs often in the 80s and lows in the 60s. One
notable exception was behind a stronger cold front that moved
through early on the 22nd and dropped highs into the 70s and lows
back into the 50s for a few days.

Average temperatures for April 2024 still ended up near to slightly
below normal across the area despite the limited number of cold
frontal passages. A significant contributing factor to this, was the
prevailing drier air across the area, which helped overnight lows
frequently drop to cooler than normal values. In fact, average
minimum temperatures for the month ended up either near or below
normal (up to 1 to 2 degrees cooler than normal at Vero Beach and
Fort Pierce). However, average maximum temperatures for April were
mostly near to slightly above normal, especially from the Orlando
area southward.


Daily Record Temperatures for the Month:

Daytona Beach:
- No daily temperature records set or tied.

Leesburg:
- No daily temperature records set or tied.

Sanford:
- No daily temperature records set or tied.

Orlando:
- April 11th: Tied record warm low of 70 degrees last set in 2013.

Melbourne:
- April 10th: Tied record warm low of 71 degrees last set in 2017.

Vero Beach:
- April 3rd: Record high of 91 degrees. Previous record was 88
degrees last set in 2023.
- April 14th: Tied record low of 46 degrees last set in 1971.

Fort Pierce:
- April 10th: Tied record warm low of 72 degrees last set in 2015.
- April 11th: Tied record high of 92 degrees last set in 1999.
- April 21st: Record high of 91 degrees. Previous record was 90
degrees last set in 2006.


Average temperatures for April 2024 at the primary climate sites
across east central Florida are as follows (rankings provided if in
the top 10):

- Daytona Beach had a monthly average temperature of 69.7 degrees
Fahrenheit, which was 0.5 degrees below normal.

- Leesburg had a monthly average temperature of 71.9 degrees
Fahrenheit, which was 0.3 degrees below normal.

- Sanford had a monthly average temperature of 71.7 degrees
Fahrenheit, which was 0.6 degrees below normal.

- Orlando had a monthly average temperature of 72.6 degrees
Fahrenheit, which was 0.4 degrees above normal.

- Melbourne had a monthly average temperature of 71.6 degrees
Fahrenheit, which was 0.2 degrees below normal.

- Vero Beach had a monthly average temperature of 71.7 degrees
Fahrenheit, which was 0.4 degrees below normal.

- Fort Pierce had a monthly average temperature of 71.0 degrees
Fahrenheit, which was 0.5 degrees below normal.


...Rainfall...

A band of gusty showers and storms preceding an approaching cold
front moved through the area on the 3rd, producing rainfall totals
around a half an inch to an inch across Lake and Volusia counties
southward through northern portions of Brevard and Osceola counties.
However, this activity weakened as it pushed southward, with amounts
around a quarter of an inch or less across southern portions of east
central Florida. Another band of stronger showers and storms moved
into the area ahead of cold front on the 11th. Similar to the
previous event, this band weakened as it shifted south, leading to
higher rainfall amounts up to a half an inch to an inch across
Osceola and Brevard counties northward, while farther south rainfall
amounts were again typically around a quarter of an inch or less.
Another front generated isolated to scattered showers and storms
from late on the 21st into the 22nd, but rainfall from this activity
was overall limited.

Otherwise, dry conditions prevailed between these frontal passages
for April. It wasn`t until the very last day of the month that some
additional showers and storms developed along the Treasure Coast
bringing some much needed rainfall to some locations in this area.
Up through the 29th, Fort Pierce and Vero Beach had rainfall totals
that were set to be within the top 5 driest on record for April,
with 0.09 inches total at Fort Pierce ranking as 2nd driest and 0.29
inches at Vero Beach ranking as 5th driest. However, the rainfall on
the 30th boosted end of month totals slightly to 0.45 inches at Vero
Beach and 0.55 inches at Fort Pierce.  This ended up ranking April
2024 as the 8th driest (tying 2001) on record at Vero Beach, and
outside of the top ten rankings entirely at Fort Pierce, as 13th
driest.

Still, it was a rather dry month overall across the region.
Precipitation amounts generally ranged between 1 to 2 inches across
Osceola and Brevard counties northward and around a half an inch to
an inch farther south. These totals were around 1 to 2 inches below
normal at many locations for April, continuing a drier than normal
pattern that began around late February. This led to developing
abnormally dry (D0) conditions across Osceola and Brevard counties
southward through Okeechobee County and the Treasure Coast into late
April where rainfall has been significantly below normal over the
past two to three months.


Daily Record Rainfall for the Month:

Daytona Beach:
- No daily record rainfalls set or tied.

Leesburg:
- No daily record rainfalls set or tied.

Sanford:
- No daily record rainfalls set or tied.

Orlando:
- No daily record rainfalls set or tied.

Melbourne:
- No daily record rainfalls set or tied.

Vero Beach:
- No daily record rainfalls set or tied.

Fort Pierce:
- No daily record rainfalls set or tied.


April 2024 rainfall totals for the primary climate sites across
east central Florida are as follows (ranking provided if in the top
10):

- Daytona Beach received 1.27 inches of rain for the month, which
was 0.96 inches below normal.

- Leesburg received 1.88 inches of rain for the month, which was
0.16 inches below normal.

- Sanford received 1.62 inches of rain for the month, which was 0.73
inches below normal.

- Orlando received 1.33 inches of rain for the month, which was 1.25
inches below normal.

- Melbourne received 1.10 inches of rain for the month, which was
1.19 inches below normal.

- Vero Beach received 0.45 inches of rain for the month, which was
2.61 inches below normal. This ties April 2001 as the 8th driest
April on record for this site, with records going back to 1942.

- Fort Pierce received 0.55 inches of rain for the month, which was
2.48 inches below normal.


Below is a list of observed precipitation totals and rainfall
statistics for select sites across east central Florida for
April 2024:

Station        April 2024      Normal      Departure    Percent of
                Rainfall      Rainfall    From Normal     Normal

Daytona Beach    1.27"         2.23"        -0.96"         57%
(DAB)
Orlando          1.33"         2.58"        -1.25"         52%
(MCO)
Melbourne        1.10"         2.29"        -1.19"         48%
(MLB)
Vero Beach       0.45"         3.06"        -2.61"         15%
(VRB)
Clermont*        1.28"         2.59"        -1.31"         49%
(CLRF1)
Leesburg         1.88"         2.04"        -0.16"         92%
(LEE)
DeLand*          2.02"         2.47"        -0.45"         82%
(DELF1)
Sanford          1.62"         2.35"        -0.73"         69%
(SFB)
Titusville*      1.52"         2.69"        -1.17"         57%
(TITF1)
Fort Pierce      0.55"         3.03"        -2.48"         18%
(FPR)
Stuart*          0.80"         3.56"        -2.76"         22%
(STRF1)

*Rainfall totals for the month end around 7 AM on the 30th.

For more local climate information, please visit our web page at
http://weather.gov/mlb and click on the "Climate" icon toward the
bottom of the page.

$$

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