BUFFALO, N.Y. — The winter season is over, and spring is here, but what does that mean for our weather?
Indications are that our spring weather pattern may behave much like our winter weather pattern did, just a much warmer version.
Looking back at the winter of 2020 to 2023 as a whole, the season favored above normal temperatures and above normal precipitation for the Buffalo-area. Every winter month had a surplus of rain or melted snow, and every month had above normal temperatures and it looks like that trend will continue into the spring.
One of the main climate drivers during this past winter was the atmospheric circulation that was caused by the cooler than average ocean temperatures in the Tropical Pacific, referred to as La Niña.
When Pacific ocean waters are cool during the winter season, warmer than average winter temperatures with above normal precipitation often is the result here in Western New York.
Now, in the past few weeks, the La Niña conditions have faded across the equatorial Pacific. However, the atmospheric conditions brought on by the La Niña, are continuing, but fading slowly, which means the warmer and wetter conditions experienced in Western New York during the winter are expected to continue during the spring months of April, May and June.
That does not mean that we can't have some cool and dry periods in place during this three month period, but overall rainfall, and even early-season snow, is still expected to be above normal and temperatures are expected to be above normal for the next three months.
Spring high temperature averages for Buffalo
- April 1st 48 degrees
- May 1st 62 degrees
- June 1st 72 degrees
Average spring rain is around 10".
