SPRING FORECAST UP IN THE AIR:

While we recently experienced a 70-degree day, that doesn’t mean that greater Kalamazoo is in for a warm spring.

In fact, we’re in for a slightly colder-than-normal spring with near-normal precipitation – at least through the end of March, according to Curt Scholten, a meteorologist for the NOAA National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids.

Kayla Kiley/Townsquare Media
Kayla Kiley/Townsquare Media
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“Of course, normal temperatures by the end of this month get up to about 50 for the highs, so even if we are a little below normal, it’s not going to feel all that bad compared to February,” Scholten said.

While Scholten feels as though the National Weather Service has March pegged, the April and May forecast is up in the air.

“Overall, the picture for the rest of spring is not clear,” said Scholten, who cited fluctuating ocean temperatures and oscillations in the atmosphere as reasons that long-range forecasting is hard for predicting local weather.

So, what’s normal for spring weather in greater Kalamazoo? Here’s what Scholten had to say regarding normals for the local meteorological spring (March through May):

  • March: 44.4 degrees high, 26.9 degrees low and 8.3 inches of snow, 2.37 inches of water (which includes melted snow and rain)
  • April: 58.2 degrees high, 37.7 degrees low; 1.8 inches of snow, 3.35 inches of water
  • May: 69.5 degrees, 47.8 degrees low; trace of snow, 3.98 water

While we may be in for a colder than normal spring, we can bask in the fact that “the worst of winter is over,” Scholten said.

FARMERS ALMANAC SPRING FORECAST:

If you subscribe to The Old Farmer’s Almanac for predicating your weather, don’t put away your winter coat.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, here’s the prediction for March and April:

  • March: temperature 33° (5° below avg.); precipitation 2" (1" below avg.); Mar 1-10: Snow showers, cold; Mar 11-14: Showers, mild; Mar 15-24: Snow, then flurries, cold; Mar 25-31: Snow, then a few showers, cool.
  • April: temperature 53° (5° above avg.); precipitation 3.5" (1" below avg. east, 1" above west); Apr 1-5: Sunny; warm, then cool; Apr 6-10: Sunny, turning warm; Apr 11-17: Scattered t-storms, warm; Apr 18-23: Sunny, turning hot; Apr 24-30: T-storms, then sunny, cool.

The Farmer’s Alamanac also predicts that “April and May will be warmer than normal, with near-normal rainfall,” according to its website.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac’s website says it predicts its weather forecasts “from a secret formula that was devised by the founder of this Almanac, Robert B. Thomas, in 1792.” Thomas believed that weather on Earth was influenced by sunspots, which are magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun. “Over the years, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has refined and enhanced that formula with state-of-the-art technology and modern scientific disciplines,” according to the website.

HOW WINTER FARED:

If you were in southwest Michigan this winter, you experienced a very cold one.

Referring to the meteorological winter of December through February, Scholten said those cold temps were thanks to the warmer-than-normal ocean temperatures off of the Pacific coast south of Alaska and west of the American Pacific coast.

When it comes to snowfall, Scholten said the greater Kalamazoo area had a near-to-slightly-above normal winter.

If you've heard the saying “in like a lion, out like a lamb,” Scholten said that’s an accurate way to describe last winter, if you count November.

“November, January and February were lions,” Scholten said. “March, so far, seems to be a lamb.”

If you remember the winter of 2013-2014, Scholten said, "it was pretty much all a lion.”

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