Updated April Forecast – Cold & Wet North, Warm & Dry South

The updated April forecast has been issued by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.  A few minor changes have been made from the previous outlook issued a few weeks ago, but the underlying message is still the same – cold & wet in the North, and warm & dry in the South.

Our updated monthly outlook for April has high confidence for below-normal temperatures across much of the Northern Plains and Upper Mississippi Valley given the cold pattern that appears likely to persist through at least the first half of the month. https://t.co/ZojpnS5Ja5 pic.twitter.com/KgmJDCymCJ

— NWSCPC (@NWSCPC) March 31, 2018

The Climate Prediction Center states that La Nina is still being observed in the Pacific Ocean, although conditions have decayed considerably during the last month. The overall atmospheric pattern still resembles La Nina. Neutral Pacific Ocean temperature conditions are forecast to rapidly develop over the coming months and the overall atmospheric will shift away from the current La Nina “look”.

Short- and extended-range outlooks from the computer models influenced the April forecast.  The Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO), recent soil moisture observations, sea surface temperatures and April climatology were also considered.

For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Mace Michaels