NWS explains the saying “April showers bring May flowers”

NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJMN) – As the old saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers”, and this rainy April is proving it right so far.

The reason April is known for being so rainy across the United States is because it happens during a transition season. But here in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we still have the chance to see snow through April, so our rainiest months tend to be in the fall.

However, since we’ve been seeing such a mild winter, we’re seeing a good example of the saying.

“This year has been an example of that, where we’re in a pattern where every couple of days right now we’re seeing at least a chance of precipitation,” said Matt Zika, a Meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “Not everybody’s seeing it. It’s more showery. So this year, that adage of April showers are going to lead to our May flowers is fairly accurate. You go last year, obviously, we still had tremendous amounts of snow on the ground even at this point in the month of April, and so it wasn’t as fitting last year. So it varies here in the northern climate. But you go downstate or you go further south from here and it’s pretty consistent where the April to May transition times lead to that green up, and obviously most flowering things are out by late April through the month of May.”

If you want to know more about when this rain could end, you can find the Local 3 Weather Livestream and an up to date forecast for your area here.

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