"Dogwood" Winter Takes A Back Seat to A Spring Treat!

Happy May Day! Some spend this day taking flowers to neighbors they care about and enjoying flowered trees. You see the beautiful picture above of a dogwood sent in by Peggy Klim off South 9th Street in Lafayette. We have had a "dogwood" winter here in Lafayette this week, but finally yesterday afternoon things felt more like Spring. A "dogwood" winter can be defined as a cold snap that hits when the dogwoods are in bloom after nice warm Spring weather. It is the opposite of "Indian Summer" we talk about in the autumn months or a warm spell that hits the area after our first frost. Today will be our weather pick of the week with lots of sunshine and 70s returning to the area. April went down in the books with below normal precipitation which was wonderful news and it has allowed our flowering trees to keep their blooms around longer than normal according to Peggy. Officially we had 2.63 inches of rain at WLFI or just over a half-inch below average. Farmers are still behind on their planting but they have been catching up thanks to a much better pattern. We ended up just over 2 degrees above average which was a nice change although we had plenty of ups and downs, including our latest snowflakes in some parts of our area since 1977. Now the official latest measurable snow in Lafayette was May 8, 1923 but Mary Anne in Remington has a story that would even blow that record out of the water.

I remember a MOTHER'S DAY snow in 1968! My little one was recovering from tonsil surgery so I am sure of the year. It looked like March. Sun would shine, then get real dark, and snow like the dickens to cover the ground before the sun came out again. The process repeated itself over and over. I don't remember the exact date but that would have been MAY!!

Mary Anne in Remington

Well Mary Anne, I could not officially confirm any snow during May of 1968 but I will take your word for it! Mother's Day in 1968 fell on May 12th which is hard to fathom! That was another year we had a dogwood winter.

Now that May is here we will still have to be on guard for at least one more cold snap. No heavy planting until after Mother's Day which is May 11th. I will have some thoughts on your May Outlook on the news tonight and I am still finishing up your summer outlook. Hint: I see lots of hot weather in July and August!!

The thunderstorms on Friday may not be as bad as what many of the discussions are saying. I see a slower moving front which may not arrive until very late Friday night. This will cut down on the convergence along the front during our peak heating limiting severe weather. But this could still change and the verdict is not in yet. We have been lucky so far this severe weather season and things can pop or change in a hurry. Look what Paul Hadfield our famed storm chaser found in Illinois last Friday! You can see incredible video of this funnel cloud forming before his eyes with snazzy music at the link below. Thanks Paul! I would go storm chasing with you any time.


http://pawleewurx.blogspot.com/

Remember we are now in our peak months for severe weather, including tornadoes. May and June usually bring the most damaging storms to the Lafayette viewing area. Today, I will be watching the new model runs that come in like a hawk.

I wanted to send a special shout out to the Dan Clark's Frontier High School class I spoke to last Thursday. I did not forget about you! I did not get to share your picture on the air like I had hoped. That is live television for you. But you have made the weather blog so we can enjoy your picture much longer. Thanks for listening to all my stories and all your good questions. I had a lot of fun and remember to love what you do and do what you love!! Your future is bright! Go Falcons! Happy May Day!