News photo by Josh Jambor Pictured is Alpena resident Robin Sobeck and her dog Lucky enjoying the sunshine at the Thomas Stafford Dog Park.

ALPENA – If March left Northeast Michigan feeling soggy, April doubled down. The Alpena area closed out the month with nearly double the normal precipitation, far less snow than usual, and a mix of chilly mornings and pleasantly mild afternoons that offered glimpses of the warmer days ahead.

According to data from the National Weather Service’s Gaylord office, Alpena received 5.89 inches of precipitation for the month, well above the average normal of 2.93 inches. The nearly three inches of additional precipitation made April one of the wetter spring months on record.

The wet start to the month of April mirrored the end of March, when the area was already running well above normal with precipitation levels. Prolonged heavy rainfall in mid-April, compounded with lingering snow and a saturated ground, caused widespread flooding, washed-out roads, and flooded basements.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Faith Fredrickson spoke about the above average precipitation for the month, including several days when the area received more than an inch of rain.

“We had a couple of days with decent rainfall. Alpena received 1.17 inches of rain on April 2 and April 14,” Fredrickson said. “Additionally, on April 12, Alpena received 2.24 inches of rain, which is a record for the month of April.”

Based on weather records from 1916 onward, the all-time record for most precipitation in a single day at the Alpena County Regional Airport is 5.1 inches on Sept. 3, 1937. The record for the most precipitation in a single month in Alpena is 8.37 inches, which was recorded in June 1969.

The highest temperature for the month of April was nowhere near the record high of 86 degrees achieved on April 12 and April 13 of 2023. The record low temperature of -7 degrees reached in 2003 remains safe.

“The high temperature for the month of April at Alpena County Regional Airport was 66 degrees on April 21,” Fredrickson said. “The low temperature for the month of April was 16 degrees and that was on April 7.”

Snowfall for the month of April was a different story. Alpena picked up only two inches of snow, compared to the normal six inches. Most of that snowfall occurred early in the month, before temperatures climbed enough to turn the rest of the moisture into rain.

Above average precipitation was the main story as far as weather headlines for the month of April. Fredrickson explained that April was a wetter month compared to previous years due to precipitation.

“Overall, the month of April was wetter than normal, part of that was the amount of rainfall,” Fredrickson said. “We also had two to three feet of snow in the middle of March and that all melted off in April when the weather warmed up a bit.”

“That combination of melting snow and rainfall led to flooding issues across the area,” Fredrickson added.

Josh Jambor can be reached at jjambor@thealpenanews.com.