I have a LOT of conversations about the weather. It is kind of an occupational hazard. I really don’t mind giving impromptu forecasts to total strangers, but the last couple of weeks has brought a flurry of comments about the snow and cold weather we have had to endure so far this spring. Let me assure all of those people right now… it is a typical spring pattern.

Two days out of the last eight have been above average, while the other six days have run an average of 12° below average. We have had several rounds of arctic air swing through the Midwest over the last couple of weeks that has brought anything from thunderstorms to snow to sleet to ice.

We have another cool stretch headed our way for the end of this week as well. The good news is that this cool-down is different than the past few in one way. This system is not coming from the North Pole, but rather from the Pacific Ocean.

What that means to us is that this system will carry with it moisture and cool air, not cold air. It is also moving toward us very slowly which means that we are going to see chunks of energy roll our way over a more extended period of time.

Rain is expected to roll this direction for Thursday and early Friday. Temperatures will be around 5° to 8° below average with a spike in temperature on Saturday before the main storm slides overhead. Once that system moves into place on Sunday, we are looking at a cool rain for Easter.