Spring 2022 Outlook: Warmer, wetter-than-average weather favored
The last day of February offered lots of sunshine and high temperatures near 50 degrees across Michiana Monday.
Not too shabby to say goodbye to meteorological winter! @TomCoomes
— Dave Caulfield (@DaveCaulfield_) February 28, 2022
Spring 2022 is looking warmer/wetter than normal. With that in mind, when is it our typical first bout with severe weather? We’ll talk about it on @ABC57News at 6 #inwx #miwx #michianawx pic.twitter.com/U3rqVPWWeV
However, was Monday's weather a one-time thing, or a taste of what's to come as we head into March, April and May?
The Climate Prediction Center three-month outlook favors above-normal temperatures and precipitation for Michiana.
There is a particularly strong signal for a wet March locally, something that bears watching as we get into spring flood season.
Additionally, with warm and wet conditions, the chance of thunderstorms and severe weather increases (broadly speaking). While severe weather can happen any month of the year across Michiana, the National Weather Service typically issues the first severe thunderstorm warning of the season by the middle of March. St. Joseph County (IN) has a longer wait for the start of "severe season," with our average coming nearly a month later compared to the rest of Michiana.
Last year, we all had to wait until the middle of June to get our first severe thunderstorm warning of the year.
If the warm and humid weather does indeed come early this year, however, our thunderstorm season won't stay quiet for very long.