So far, Spring has been slow to start across the Upper Midwest.
Temperatures have been colder than normal with snow prospects continuing at least into this upcoming weekend. But Winter won’t last forever as each day sees more sunlight and retreating cold across Canada.
The warmth won’t arrive with a snap of the finger like most of us are hoping for. Instead, temperatures will be slow to warm into the first few weeks of April. After that, temperature-highs will be int he 60s more often, which will be warm enough for more thunderstorms versus snow storms.
NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center, which forecasts weather patterns for long-range time periods, shows Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois staying cooler than normal through the rest of March. April is expected to remain wetter than normal with equal chances of cool or warm weather. May, however, shows something more ominous. Again, wetter than normal conditions are expected. But the prospects for warmer-than-normal weather signals a more active severe weather season.
Mays that are warm and wet tend to bring repeated chances for storm systems. Our area sees the most tornadoes from the second week of May through the first few weeks of June.
-Meteorologist Eric Sorensen
