March Warmer than April 2012

The abnormally warm March of 2012 is still setting records on May 1st. The April 2012 climate data is now complete, and it is official: March was warmer than April!

Temperature records for Detroit go back to 1874, and in those years, once in 1907 the March and April temperatures equaled each other (39.1). 2012 is the first and only year that April (49.4) was cooler than March (50.7).

Looking back at similar temperature abnormalities, there were 5 times in climate history that March was colder than February in Detroit. 6 times June was warmer than July; once August was cooler than September; and once September was cooler than October. This truly is a rare event.

The same is true for Flint and MBS with March being warmer than April. There are no previous records of this temperature anomaly occurring.

Detroit	March	April
2012 Avg Temp	50.7	49.4
1907 Avg Temp	39.1	39.1
Normal Temp	37.2	49.2

Flint	March	April
2012 Avg Temp	49.5	47.3
Normal Temp	34.1	46.1

MBS	March	April
2012 Avg Temp	48.0	46.9
Normal Temp	33.7	46.1