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The middle of spring is a time of the year when large temperature swings in a short time span can make it difficult to plan a wardrobe for the day. One spot in the U.S. where the transition between winter cold and summer warmth can happen in the blink of an eye is the central Plains.

Cold air still bottled up in northern Canada and the Arctic occasionally spills south into the Plains even as late as mid-April. At the same time, very warm air along the Gulf Coast can surge north into the nation’s midsection. The boundary between these air masses, called a cold front, can be proceeded by rapidly falling temperatures and gusty winds but not necessarily severe thunderstorms and flooding rain.

Goodland, Kan., was in the weather spotlight 21 years ago today when one of these cold fronts brought sweeping changes to the weather pattern. One day prior on April 14, 2000, Goodland hit a record high of 86 degrees (this record high was later shattered in 2017). Then, a moisture-starved cold front swept across the city producing less than one-tenth of an inch of rain. The air temperature in its wake plummeted into the lower 20s on April 15, 2000. On the afternoon of April 15, the mercury only warmed 5 degrees to a high of 29 degrees, which remains the current record coldest high temperature for the date. That’s a 57 degree change in air temperature in 24 hours!

Goodland, Kan., wasn’t the only city that experienced a shock to the system in mid-April of 2000. North Platte, Neb., warmed into the 60s on April 14 followed by a record cold high temperature of 27 degrees on April 15. The cold air also poured along the Front Range. Denver hit 78 degrees on April 14, 2000 only to be greeted by lower 30s the next day.

Spring cold blasts in the Plains usually don’t dig deep into heating budgets due to their short duration. For instance, following the record cold high temperature of 29 degrees in Goodland, Kan., on April 15, 2000, temperatures the next day hit 60 degrees. Not to be outdone, warmth returned quickly across the Plains and Goodland came within two degrees of matching its record high of 91 degrees on April 18! Similarly, Denver bolted from the lower 30s on April 15 to matching its daily record high of 80 degrees just three days later.

The weather in the Plains this week in 2000 serves as a reminder that average temperatures alone don’t give justice to the extremes that can occur. Goodland, Kan., is the perfect example with a high of 29 degrees on April 15 followed by lower 90s just three days later. Averaging these high temperatures produces a comfortable 60 degrees, which is right on par Goodland’s average high for mid-April of 64 degrees. The means sometimes don’t justify the extremes!
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Story Image: An image showing the temperature dichotomy across the Plains on a spring day in 2021.

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On This Week 21 Years Ago: Extreme Heat And Cold Zap The Plains