WINTER WON'T GO QUIETLY...

You think it was a long winter here? In Caribou, Maine, Monday was the first time since November 10th without an inch or more of snow on the ground. The 163 day stretch smashed the old mark of 155 days set in the winter of 2002/2003. (We went 55 days in Cedar Rapids). Then there's Caribou's seasonal snowfall total of 164.7". That makes our total of 48.7" (16" above normal) look downright paltry.

Most years the Midwest snow season is over by now and barring something miraculous I expect that to be the case in my area. However, the upper Midwest may not be so lucky, The EURO weeklies continue to show a late season snow event in the day 5-10 period. This is the EPS mean snowfall forecast for the next 10 days.

The control really nails Wisconsin with a heavy wet snow during that same 5-10 day period. While this would be late, it's not as unusual in this part of the Midwest as it would be further south in my local area. The jury is out on this wintry development but I'm not liking the trend as it indicates a surge of well below normal temperatures even without the snow.

The weeklies also call for above normal precipitation over the cornbelt the next 46 days. This is what the EPS mean depicts for total precipitation through June 7th.

The departures look this way for that 46 day stretch.

Temperatures for the most part are a little cooler than normal. The 46 day EPS anomaly mean came in like this. It makes sense with as much rain as it shows and the wet soil conditions it would enhance.

The next significant weather maker for the central Midwest comes Friday night and Saturday. There are still lots of details to pin down but the latest guidance suggests a healthy system with heavy precipitation. This is concerning for the Mississippi River in my area which is expecting another major crest in the next 6-10 days. The track of this system is also shifting south and that could mean a raw wet weekend, the opposite of what we just experienced. Winters remnants have not signed off yet. Much more in coming days. Roll weather...TS