...1857... The Genesee Suspension Bridge, in Genesee, New York, collapsed under the weight of 12 inches of wet snow weighing 19 pounds per cubic foot. Snow fell to a depth of 48 inches at Liberty in the Catskills.

...1887... 21 people were killed and 250 were injured as an F4 tornado tracked 60 miles through Anderson and Lima counties in Kansas and Bates county in Missouri. Total damage was $1 million, one of the few million dollar tornadoes in the 19th century.

...1897... The low temperature plummeted to 24 degrees at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 37 degrees set in 1895.

...1904... The snow depth at Newport, Rhode Island was 1 inch, setting the record high for the date.

...1947... 0.2 inches of snow fell at Newport, Rhode Island, setting the record high for the date.

...1957... At Newport, Rhode Island, the high temperature peaked at 84 degrees, breaking the record of 82 degrees set in 1954.

...1958... Portions of Montana were in the midst of a spring snow burst. Snowfall amounts ranged up to 55 inches at Red Lodge, 61 inches at Nye Mine, and 72 inches at Mystic Lake. (

...1967... Severe thunderstorms spawned 48 tornadoes in the Upper Midwest. Hardest hit was northern Illinois where sixteen tornadoes touched down during the afternoon and evening hours causing fifty million dollars damage. On that Friday afternoon tornadoes struck Belvidere IL, and the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, killing 57 persons. (David Ludlum)

...1980... The relative humidity was a dry 15% at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 18% set in 1961 and 1962.  The temperature at International Falls MN hit 90 degrees.

...1981... At Newport, Rhode Island the dew point dipped to 5 degrees, breaking the record of 7 degrees set in 1975 and the wind chill was 18 degrees, breaking that record of 19 degrees set in 1956.

...1987... Unseasonably warm weather prevailed from the Gulf of Mexico to New England and the Great Lakes Region, with twenty-nine cities reporting record high temperatures for the date. Afternoon highs of 82 degrees at Caribou ME, 94 degrees at Mobile AL, 95 degrees at Monroe LA, and 93 degrees at New Orleans LA, were records for the month of April.

...1988... After having had just twelve rainouts in the previous twenty-six years at Dodger Stadium, a third day of heavy rain in southern California rained out a double-header at Dodger Stadium which had been scheduled due to rainouts the previous two days.

...1989... The temperature at Las Animas CO soared to 100 degrees to establish a state record for April. Twenty-two cities in the central and southwestern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Eight cities equaled or exceeded previous April records.

...1990... Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail in Oklahoma, and also caused some flash flooding in the state. Thunderstorms over the Southern High Plains produced golf ball size hail at Roswell NM and El Paso TX. Easterly winds and temperatures near zero produced wind chill readings as cold as 50 degrees below zero for the spring festival (Piuraagiaqta) outdoor events at Barrow AK.

...1991... 3.19 inches of rain fell at Newport, Rhode Island on this day, breaking the record of 2.75 inches set back in 1918.

...1992... A big late season snowstorm over northeastern Nebraska came to an end. 9.3 inches of snow fell at Omaha. Of interest was the fact that 13.3 inches of snow had fallen in Omaha up to November 23, 1991 and then after that only 1.7 inches had fallen until this snowstorm, so most of the 24.3 inches measured during the winter season did not fall in the winter at all, but in the autumn and spring. Snowfall from the storm was even heavier in other sections of northeastern Nebraska. Brownsville checked in with 14 inches and Offutt Air Force base measured 12 inches. 2 inches of snow fell at International Falls, Minnesota on this day. This brought the winter season snowfall to 106.7 inches and set a new all-time record for the city. The old record was 104.7 inches set back in the 1988-89 winter season.

...1996... An F3 tornado tracked 10 miles through Sebastian and Crawford Counties in Arkansas. The tornado tracked through downtown Fort Smith, causing severe damage. 4 people were killed, 89 were injured, and damages totaled 300 million dollars.

...1997... The Red River reached a new record flood level in Grand Forks, North Dakota, peaking at just over 54 feet, breaking the previous record by over 5 feet, and 26 feet above flood stage! The city dikes failed on the 18th and 19th, resulting in 70 percent of city being flooded, forcing the 50,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Damages in the area totaled around $3 billion.

...2001... An F4 tornado tracked through Hoisington, Kansas, killing one person, injuring 28, and doing $43 million in damages.

...2007... The South Plains and Panhandle of West Texas were hit by an outbreak of severe thunderstorms. Between the hours of 5 and 6 pm, several thunderstorms developed across the western South Plains. Around 7 pm, a super cell produced a tornado which touched down around Fieldton (southwest of Olton) and then moved just south and east of Olton, doing damage to several structures and equipment. The thunderstorm continued to move northeast across northeast Lamb, northwest Hale, southeast Castro and southwest Swisher Counties, producing a long-lived tornado (along with hail up to the size of tennis balls). By 7:45 pm, the storm approached the town of Tulia in Swisher County. A tornado touchdown was reported in the town, causing major damage. The tornadic thunderstorm continued to move northeast across Swisher County over open country through about 8:30 pm.

...2017... For the thirty first time since 1893 at Newport, Rhode Island, the temperature range for the day was only 2 degrees (48 high temp, 46 low temp). It broke the daily record of 4 degrees set back in 1944.