IRON MOUNTAIN — Temperatures may soar this spring and summer after an unusually mild winter in the Upper Peninsula, forecasters say.

AccuWeather predicts temperatures in the region could range 4 degrees or more above historical averages from June through August.

“Summer 2024 can feature heat waves for many areas across the Plains to Northeast,” said Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather senior meteorologist. “Compared to historical averages, the hottest areas could be over the Great Lakes, Upper Midwest and southwestern Plains.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows severe drought in the far western U.P. and moderate drought in southern Iron and Dickinson counties. Currently, there is no drought in Menominee and Marquette counties, but much of the eastern U.P. has moderate drought or abnormally dry conditions.

There is moderate drought in most northern Wisconsin counties bordering the U.P., including Florence.

Drier-than-normal soils are an important consideration in the long-range forecast, which calls for 50% chance of above-normal temperatures through July in the U.P. and northern Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service.

The NWS precipitation outlook is neutral through summer in the U.P. and northern Wisconsin, but AccuWeather’s Pastelok warns that summer heat may contribute to severe storms. Significant wildfires could also break out, due in part to weather patterns dating back to last year, he said.

“The risk of wildfires could increase quickly across the Upper Midwest in the second half of spring because of the record-breaking warmth and dryness across the region this past winter,” Pastelok said.

Snowfall at Iron Mountain-Kingsford this past season totaled 31 inches, about half the normal amount, Iron Mountain-Kingsford Wastewater Treatment Plant observations show. Snow depth peaked at 7 inches in mid-January. Snowfall record-keeping is incomplete and dates only to the late 1920s, but the lowest seasonal total on record was 27.3 inches in 1943-44.

Rainfall in April was above-average as water-equivalent precipitation at Iron Mountain-Kingsford measured 3.71 inches, about an inch above the norm. The total included 4 inches of snowfall, which was about average.

Temperatures averaged 43.5 degrees during April, which was more than 2 degrees above normal. The highest reading was 70 degrees reported April 28, while the lowest was 24 degrees on April 6, 7 and 25. Observations for each date are made at 8 a.m. and cover the preceding 24 hours.

As of noon Sunday, the five-day average soil temperature at Iron Mountain was 52.2 degrees, according to greencastonline.com. That compares with a 10-year average of 51.6 degrees for the same date.