According to forecasters, a warmer than normal spring is on its way … maybe
Courtesy photo
Although “The Old Farmer's Almanac” is calling for a cooler than normal spring, the National Weather Service has forecasted a warmer than normal spring, with normal amounts of precipitation, for most of the upper Midwest, including Antrim and Kalkaska counties.
REGION – Spring may have officially sprung last week on March 20, but as those who live here know all too well, that doesn't necessarily mean warm temperatures and blooming flowers will quickly follow.
In fact, during some years, warmer temperatures, flowers and green on the trees doesn't occur in snowy northern Michigan until sometime in May, as was the case last year after a surprise spring snowstorm on April 16.
True, the weather has warmed from January lows, although temps in the 20s or lower at night are still frequent. And yes, snow banks are slowly receding, and 40-degree, sunny days and cold nights have been perfect for maple syrup producers, but most would like to see it consistently warm up as quickly as possible.
So just when is it going to feel more like spring? Well, that depends on who you want to believe.
According to “The Old Farmer's Almanac,” which has, wrong or right, predicted the weather for more than 200 years, the spring of 2019 will be "cooler than normal in the Northeast, Appalachians, Upper Midwest, Pacific Southwest, and northern Intermountain regions, with below normal precipitation expected in the Atlantic Corridor, Appalachians, Midwest, and Intermountain regions.”
However, for those who prefer a more scientific forecast, then the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) predictions may be a more trusted source.
Especially when it calls for "Warm temperatures in the northern and eastern United States as the spring months begin, with above-average temperatures in northern New England, northern New York, parts of far northern Michigan and portions of northern Montana during the meteorological spring, defined by meteorologists as the three-month period spanning March through May."
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