April has been a pretty weird month. Then again. I’m pretty sure I said that about March too.
While temperatures have been warmer than average as a whole for the month, we’ve certainly had a few cooler days thrown in there as well. The day that stands out so far is April 15th, where we hit a record of 91 degrees in the Roanoke area.
The bigger story here is the the lack of April showers in our area. We’re nearly 4 inches below average for total rainfall since the start of meteorological spring (March 1st), and nearly 5 inches below average since the start of 2026. The rain from today and tomorrow will certainly help with the drought, but won’t make any significant difference.
It’s not just Roanoke either. Much of the Mid-Atlantic is dealing with this abnormal dryness as well. Look at the calendars for Lynchburg, Blacksburg, and Danville.
There’s indications that May could shape up to be a bit wet in the early weeks. That would be much needed news as we continue to deal with this severe drought.