If you were outside on Sunday April 3rd, you might have noticed it was quite a bit warmer than earlier in the week!  Temperatures, thanks in part to incredibly warm temperatures above the ground and strong southwesterly winds, soared well into the 80s and even 90s in some locations.  These temperatures represented readings some 30 degrees above their seasonal normal (60 degrees currently), and in some locations surpassed previous record high temperatures by 5 to as much as 10 degrees!

Here is a map of the high temperatures on Sunday April 3rd:

 

So what about the records? In the immediate areas surrounding the Kansas City/Pleasant Hill forecast area, there were 17 different maximum temperature records tied or broken!  In many cases these records were not just broken, they were shattered with several old long standing records reached by late Sunday afternoon.

 

City New Record Old Record
Kansas City, MO 91 82 in 2005
St. Joseph, MO 93 83 in 2005
Columbia, MO 89 82 in 1978
Topeka, KS 92 85 in 1983
St. Louis, MO 90 87 on 1882
Springfield, MO 86 80 in 2007
Joplin, MO 87 83 in 1985
Vichy-Rolla, MO 89 83 in 1978
West Plains, MO 83 83 in 2007
Wichita, KS 90 88 in 1893
Salina, KS 92 90 in 1981
Russell, KS 88 80 in 1981
Chanute, KS 88 83 in 1934
Des Moines, IA 87 82 in 1889
Ottumwa, IA 86 82 in 1978
Lamoni, IA 87 81 in 2003
Moline, IL 83 80 in 1996
Burlington, IA 85 83 in 1978


We all know warm temperatures are not uncommon in this part of the country, but in this case reaching  90 degrees this early in the year was truly remarkable. Looking through historical Kansas City records reveals that this will be the fifth earliest occurrence of 90 degree or higher temperatures in our cities recorded history since 1888.  When was the earliest 90 degree reading?  Well that honor goes to March 21, 1907 when the temperature also reached 91 degrees. 

Dates Temperature
March 21, 1907 91
March 22, 1907, 1910 90
March 25, 1907 90
April 1, 1940 91
April 3, 2011 91

So when is the typical first 90 degree or warmer day in Kansas City?  Well that date falls nearly 2 months from now, on May 28 on average.  However, during the past 10 years the first 90 degree day has waited for June or later 6 times. 

When was the last April 90 degree day?  The answer is April 13, 2006 when the temperature climbed to 92 degrees (this month also featured 3 days in 90s).

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