Sheldon, Iowa — If you thought April 2023 was a tad chillier than normal, you would be right.
According to the daily weather data maintained by KIWA, Sheldon saw 18 days where the high temperatures fell short of the normal high temperature for the day, and a few of those times it was well below the normal high. The coldest high of the month came on the first, when the high only reached 37 degrees, 14 degrees below the normal high for April first of 51. As much of a temperature deficit that is, it was not the largest difference, however. That came on the 21st of the month, when the high only got two degrees above that of the first, coming in at 39 degrees. The average high temperature for the 21st is 22 degrees warmer, at 61. There was a stretch in the middle of the month when April teased warmer temperatures, actually going so far as to set a new record high temperature. On the 13th, the mercury squeaked past a 115-year-old record, when it hit 90 degrees, breaking the previous record of 89, which had been from 1908.
The mercury had to total swing of 69 degrees in the month of April, with the lowest low coming in at 21 degrees on the sixth and seventh of the month. The average high temperature for April 2023 was below the normal average high of 58, coming in at 52 degrees, being heavily swayed on the 12th, 13th, and 14th of the month, which were substantially above normal highs. The average low for the month came in at a chilly 28 degrees, compared to the average normal low temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
The month of April 2023 was not a situation of April showers bringing May flowers, as April was drier than the usual month of April. April usually sees a monthly snowfall of 1.9 inches, but April 2023 only had 1.35 inches of snow. April usually sees the moisture content of precipitation of 2.46 inches, but only 1.27 inches of moisture came in April 2023, which nearly eliminated the surplus of moisture that the above-normal snowfall gave. There were 12 days in April that had measurable precipitation, the first of the month was the only day that only had snow. Flakes fell two other times, but were accompanied by rain. None of the precipitation events in April 2023 resulted in liquid moisture of more than a quarter of an inch, with the wettest day being the 16th of the month, when Sheldon received 0.24″ of a rain and snow mixture. As for measurable snowfall, that only occured on three days of the month. The highest snowfall was on the first, when 3/4 of an inch of snow fell.
