Oak Hill,WV (WOAY-TV) The origin of April Fools’ dates back to the 1800s when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
The Julian calendar started with the spring equinox in April while the Gregorian calendar started January 1. Those who didn’t switch to the new calendar or had a delayed response in switching were considered fools.
The second speculation of the origin of April Fools’ Day was Mother Nature’s sneezes with the large range of weather that occurs on this day. Indeed, our region is no exception to the variety of weather on April 1.
April 1, 1974 had the sixth largest temperature change on record for the month of April with a 41-degree temperature change from the high temperature to the low temperature. The traditional warmest hour of April 1 is 4 p.m.
The most snow to fall on April 1 was 3.1 inches in 19922 and the most rain was just under one-half inch in 1996. Only 29% of April Fools’ Days in our region have been dry. We will live up to that statistic this year with early rain, then gusty winds and falling temperatures.
