News Photo by Kayla Wikaryasz On Thursday, Mark Muszynski is seen walking down the sidewalk in front of The Alpena News. Alpena residents experienced consistent rain throughout the day.

ALPENA — After months of experiencing drought, Northeast Michigan has received enough precipitation to alleviate those conditions.

Though precipitation was a bit less than average for April, Northeast Michigan has bounced back from a prolonged drought. Joe Delizio, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gaylord, said this shift in drought conditions is most likely a result of increased precipitation over the last month and a half.

However, due to the recent ice storm that began on March 28, the National Weather Service in Gaylord was unable to record weather data for April 1 through April 3. The ice storm left tens of thousands without power, devastated forest land, damaged property, and blocked access to roads. As a result of power outages and resulting damages, data presented for the month of April (sums and averages) are incomplete.

“There was some damage…we couldn’t get that data exactly,” Delizio said.

Delizio also stated that the recent ice storm likely brought much-needed moisture to the area, though it resulted in other consequences.

“(Northeast Michigan) went from severe drought to no drought,” Delizio said.

On Tuesday, a severe storm system passed through the Alpena area, consisting of strong winds and rain. Though the storm mimicked tornado-like conditions, Delizio explained there were no indications of rotating winds, though gusts reached 54 miles per hour, west of Alpena.

Delizio, who was watching the radar during the storm, explained that there weren’t any clear indications that a tornado had occurred in the Alpena area.

“(Storm conditions) looked like straight-line winds,” Delizio said. “(These) can certainly cause quite a bit of damage.”

According to the National Weather Service, damage caused by straight-line winds is commonly misinterpreted as tornado damage. Straight-line winds can also cause similar roaring sounds.

Overall, the National Weather Service recorded only 1.44 inches of precipitation for the month of April. This amount is 1.49 inches less than the average 2.93 inches expected. Likewise, Alpena only received 0.4 inches of snow, while Alpena normally receives 6.6 inches of snow in April. This equals 5.8 inches less snow for the month.

The highest temperature recorded in April was 80 degrees on Tuesday. The average high for April was 54.6 degrees. When compared with the long-term average, 52.2 degrees, Alpena’s high temperatures were 2.4 degrees higher than normal.

The lowest temperature recorded in April was 14 degrees on April 9. The average low was 31.4 degrees. When compared with the long-term average, 30.2 degrees, the low temperatures were 1.2 degrees higher than normal.

Overall, April was warmer than average.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.