Insider Blog: April 2026 Weather Recap
April was an overall warm month with more days ABOVE normal. It was also a very dry month with little to no rain. Take a look at our weather recap and stats for the month of April.
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - It was a warm month overall for the month of April. The warmest day recorded for April was 98 degrees on Wednesday, April 8th. Pretty much the entire month, we had more days above-normal than we did below or average.
Take a look.
It's been an overall dry month, with one day where Yuma had light rain on Monday, April 13th, but it was too small to measure, so it was recorded as TRACE.
The rain we did get this month put us behind our monthly rain total average for the month. We accumulated TRACE, and our average for April is 0.14", which leaves us below -0.14" for the month.
Now, this month isn't ranked the wettest, but it's ranked 149 in terms of being the driest. One of the wettest recorded for April is 1.2" in 1965.
Now, let's look at where Yuma stands with our yearly rain total. Since the start of the year, so far for 2026, Yuma has accumulated a 0.03", which is a very small amount, but it is something. And comparing it with our 2026 yearly average, we actually should be at 1.30", which is well-below-normal.
However, with what Yuma has accumulated so far for 2026 and comparing it to our total around this same time back in 2025, we were actually at 0.07" in 2025.
Monsoon season is right around the corner, so let's hope it will be a wet season.
However, with the lack of rain and warm weather we had this month, it actually kept our drought conditions in the dry category for the Desert Southwest. Now, Yuma and La Paz Counties are having 100% dry drought conditions, and even a small chunk is under the moderate category. If you look closely, about .70% of Yuma County is also starting to see severe drought.
Even Imperial County is starting to see some dry drought conditions as well.
You can also check our drought conditions weekly for both Arizona and California.
Overall, both Yuma and El Centro had above-normal temperatures and below-average rainfall for April.
You can also read more about Yuma and El Centro's 2026 April Climate Stats Data Report for the month from the NWS Phoenix.
COMPARING MARCH 2026 and APRIL 2026: In a rare set of circumstances, March 2026 actually was warmer than April 2026 when comparing the daily average temperatures over the month across south-central Arizona & SE California. This is not unprecedented - 1900 & 1967 had March warmer than April as well.
Take a look at the March 2026 and April 2026 temperature difference.
