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IRON MOUNTAIN -- April is in no hurry to usher in spring, but the long-range forecast suggests a much warmer turn as summer draws closer.
"The May-June temperature outlook favors above-normal seasonal mean temperatures for most of the contiguous U.S.," National Weather Service forecaster Jon Gottschalck said.
The Climate Prediction Center is neutral on the Upper Peninsula outlook for April, but chances for above-average temperatures through June are in the range of 40%, with just a 25% chance of below-normal.
June could signal the start of a more sweltering pattern, Weather Channel meteorologist Danielle Banks said.
"Much of the U.S. is expected to have hotter than average conditions heading into the first month of summer," Banks said. "Areas from the Midwest to the Central Plains and Rockies could have temperatures that are hottest relative to average."
This week's gusty winds and mixed precipitation should ease tonight, with temperatures rebounding Sunday. Highs are expected to range above 50 degrees before retreating by Easter weekend. Rain is predicted both Wednesday and Thursday.
Temperatures in March at Iron Mountain-Kingsford averaged 26.5 degrees, which was about a half-degree below normal. The highest temperature was 59 degrees March 16 while the lowest was minus-13 on March 3.
A warm spell at mid-month was short-lived, giving way to a nasty ice storm that caused tens of thousands of power outages across the region March 23.
Water equivalent precipitation at the Iron Mountain-Kingsford Wastewater Treatment Plant measured 3.65 inches in March, which was about 2 inches above normal. It was the fifth-wettest March on record, going back to the early 1900s.
Snowfall for the month totaled 3.5 inches, about 6 inches below average. The season's total at the end of March was 57 inches -- nearly typical -- though half of it fell in December alone.
Snow depth at the beginning of March was 17 inches but by the end of the month was only about an inch.
The CPC's outlook suggests an elevated chance of above-normal rainfall over the next three months, mostly in the eastern half of the Upper Peninsula.
La Nina conditions are expected to continue into summer, with about a 50% chance of neutral or La Nina conditions going into fall, CPC forecasters say. La Nina, the flip side of El Nino, is the periodic cooling of the central Pacific Ocean that affects weather patterns around the globe.
La Nina has gone on for two winters now. It's rare but not unprecedented for conditions to persist for a third, according to the CPC.
The U.S. Drought Monitor shows abnormally dry conditions across the northern tier of Wisconsin and bordering Upper Peninsula counties. Precipitation has been below-normal at Iron Mountain-Kingsford every month since July, except for December and March.