Source: Jim Noel
The cold pattern that was expected last week dropped soil temperatures and put a hold on most activities. Improvement will occur but it will be slow for the rest of April. A progressive west to northwest airflow will keep weak or weak/moderate systems passing through Ohio about every 2 days over the next week with generally light or light to moderate precipitation. The flow pattern supports temperatures remaining at or below normal for the rest of April but not as cold as last week. Precipitation is expected to be close to normal. Warmer weather is expected as the calendar turns to early May with above normal temperatures expected which is some good news.
TEMPERATURES
Temperatures will moderate for the rest of April with highs mostly in the 50s and 60s though northern Ohio may only see highs in the 40s Tuesday of this week. Low temperatures will be in the mid 30s to the 40s for the most part. For the rest of April temperatures will average about 5 degrees below normal. May temperatures will likely be near normal or slightly above normal but the start of May looks to be above normal temperatures by several degrees.
PRECIPITATION
Excessive rain is not expected the next 2+ weeks but frequent lighter rain is. Rainfall will average 1-3 inches the next two weeks with normal being 1.75 to 2 inches. Therefore, rainfall is considered near normal overall. A few wet snowflakes can not be ruled out Tuesday or this week in the northeast corner of Ohio. May is expected to see rainfall normal to slightly above normal. The blocking pattern over Alaska and northern Canada in 2019 which drove the active storm track from Japan to the Ohio Valley does not look to occur in 2020. This will result in fewer overall moderate to strong storm systems into May and June of 2020. The pattern is still active bt just not as active as 2019.
FROST/FREEZE
We do see another freeze this Wednesday AM with lows in the mid 20s to lower 30s. Some additional frost and near freeze conditions can also be expected this upcoming Sunday into Monday mornings. Overall, the frost and freeze conditions going forward are considered pretty close to typical for Ohio in late April and early May. After this Wednesday the chances of hard freeze conditions begin to decrease.
SOIL TEMPERATURES
Soil temperatures dropped below 50 in most areas last week and will slowly work back toward that level for the rest of April though it may not reach that level in parts of the north and northeast section of the state.
SUMMER GROWING SEASON
There is uncertainty in the summer outlook but currently above normal temperatures are favored with rainfall going from above normal to start to normal or drier than normal in the later portions of summer.
The latest NOAA climate information can be found at: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov
The lastest river and soil information can be found at: https://www.weather.gov/ohrfc/