Month in Review: April 2025

“In like a lion, out like a lamb.”

This weather idiom, which dates back to at least the early 1700s, refers to the idea that if the month of March starts with harsh weather, it will end with milder weather.  Well, it could certainly apply to the month of April this year, at least the “in like a lion” part.

Temperatures were what one would expect for this time of year with daytime temperatures in the 70s and low 80s and nighttime temperatures in the 50s and 60s.  Of course, the nice temperatures brought with them severe weather, including tornadoes and heavy rains.  Nineteen tornadoes were confirmed in the state.  April 2 – 5 was the most active period with 16 tornadoes, including one rated EF3.

But, April 5 was not the end of the crazy weather.  Oh, no.  With the severe weather came heavy rain and a LOT of it.  It started the evening of the 4th, continued all day on the 5th, and finally ended in the early morning of the 6th.  When it was all said and done.  Based on radar estimates, my area received somewhere between 13 and 15 inches of rain.  About 70 highways in the state were closed because of flooding.  Even my pond, which was very low, overflowed part of its banks.  Walking across my yard was certainly a strange feeling as the ground seemed to be floating on a layer of water.  I’m sure I could actually feel the water sloshing back and forth underneath the dirt.

We got about a two week respite from the severe weather before three more tornadoes touched down in the state, including one that went through an area less than 10 miles from my house.

What a month April turned out to be.

IN THE FIELD

I made a mid-April return trip to Collins Creek.  It was a week after all the heavy rains and flooding, and it was the one place I felt confident would be relatively unaffected.  With the rain and warmer temperatures, I wanted to find and photograph the blossoming flowers of Spring.  There weren’t a lot of flowers blooming; maybe it was still a little early in the season.  I did find some flowering Dogwood trees and was able to get some nice photographs of them.

Of course, no trip to Collins Creek is complete without at least one photograph of the waterfalls along the creek.

Last week, a couple of weeks after my trip to Collins Creek, I visited Blanchard Springs.  I’ve never been to Blanchard Springs in April before, so I really don’t know what to expect.  My plans had been to walk the path along Blanchard Spring and then go over to the campground to check that area out.  When I arrived, I discovered the campground was closed because of damage from recent flooding.  Ultimately, though, that turned out to not be a concern.

This image of the walking path was one of the first ones I made, and I think it nicely captures the surroundings I had that morning.  I made a lot of images that morning, and I’m still going through them.  I hope to have some more to share in the next couple of weeks.

HITTING THE LINKS

Feathered family stuck on a rooftop gets a fairytale ending 

Light Pollution: 8 Myths You Should Stop Believing

Lightroom Short: Better Vignetting – Alex Kunz provides some quick tips to create better vignettes 

That’s it for my April month in review.  Thanks for reading.