NEVER BEEN MORE READY...

I was looking out the window today and was reminded by the emerald green grass and leaves on the trees how quickly our fortunes changed over the past 2 weeks. We all endured a cold and somewhat snowy April with temperatures averaging 8 to 9.5 degrees below normal.

The Midwest as a whole came in like this. The core of the cold centered on Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa where a few spots were more than 12 degrees below normal.

The cold brought April snow too with up to 20" falling in parts of NC Iowa. Amounts in some areas of the Midwest were up to 750% more than the typical means.

Towards the end of April the tide began to turn and the pattern finally broke. Much warmer air finally made its way north and now May has started completely opposite of April. Check this fun fact out. The first 7 days of May the average high in Cedar Rapids was 80 degrees. The first 7 days of April averaged 38 degrees!

In Cedar Rapids, readings have hit 80 5 of the first 7 days in May with another 80 degree day on the table Tuesday. The temperature departure so far this month in Cedar Rapids is running 12 degrees above normal. You couldn't ask for a bigger turn around than that.

Going forward the question is will the warmth continue. From the looks of things it will. Here's what the Climate Prediction Center shows for temperature departures the next 8-14 days.

CPC has this for the entire month of May.

When it comes to precipitation I'm seeing mixed signals. The next 8-14 days CPC has below normal totals.

However, for the month as a whole CPC has above normal amounts.

The above normal forecasts have already been realized in NE Iowa and southern Wisconsin where 4-6" of rain has fallen in just the first week of the month.

Whatever happens I can tell you I was never more ready for warm weather than this spring. The cold and snow just didn't want to quite. And as much as I appreciate snow I threw in the towel back in early April and that's saying something. Roll weather...TS