Spring has officially started, so where’s the sun? Eastern WA’s extended spring forecast
The last week or so in eastern Washington has been a confusing one for weather forecasters and enthusiasts alike.
The east side of the state saw snow, hail, sun, rain and more in the end of February, and multiple wind advisories in that time. Winter weather alerts have been put out for multiple popular highways, and temperatures have been fluctuating from the 30s to the mid-50s.
In short, the chaotic weather can only mean one thing: we’re transitioning to spring.
Meteorological spring officially started on Friday, March 1, while astronomical spring starts on March 19.
The meteorological calendar breaks the four seasons into distinct months, with spring being March, April and May. Meanwhile, the astronomical calendar bases its months on the equinoxes and solstices, with spring starting on the vernal equinox.
Calling it spring on March 1 is one thing, but will it feel like spring this month? Punxsutawney Phil, the weather-forecasting groundhog, predicted that spring would come early this year, but will that be the case in eastern Washington?
Here’s when you can expect temperatures to warm up and when it’ll start to feel truly like spring.
Eastern Washington’s short-term forecast
In the past week or so, temperatures have gone between 30 and 60 degrees consistently, according to the National Weather Service in Pendleton. These back-and-forth temperatures will continue in the coming days, with some rain and intermittent chances of snow this week. Strong wind gusts are expected across the Evergreen State, but specifically on the east side.
“We have been below normal for the beginning of the month, and it looks like we’ll continue this trend through this week,” Weather Service meteorologist Colby Goatley told the Tri-City Herald.
In the coming days, lows will be around 30 degrees, with highs all under the 60s, according to the Weather Service.
However, the Weather Service’s long-term forecast for eastern Washington suggests a good chance of less precipitation and warmer temperatures to follow.
When will spring arrive in WA?
While much of the country will enjoy a warm March, the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts that the Pacific Northwest will be one of the few places to endure a colder-than-average March.
“You can expect above-average March temperatures along the East Coast (except for Florida), in the eastern Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, from the Deep South up into Texas and Oklahoma, on the West Coast, and in Alaska,” the Almanac states in its spring weather forecast, which was last updated on Feb. 26.
“Near- to below-average temperatures are largely anticipated elsewhere,” the Almanac continues.
The Climate Prediction Center, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, corroborates that.
The CPC forecasts that eastern Washington will have a 33-40% chance of colder-than-average temperatures over the next two weeks and around equal chances between colder- or warmer-than-average temps by the end of the month.
While the start of March has been on the colder side, the Weather Service is expecting this trend to slow down, returning to fairly normal March temperatures between March 12 and 18, NWS’s Goatley told the Herald. As far as the latest March predictions, Goatley says it looks like a cooler-than-normal start to March, then a slow return to normal temperatures, with nothing else abnormal jumping out.
Fortunately, things will improve for all of Washington, including the east side, in April and May.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac forecasts that April will be “warmer than normal” and May will be “generally on the drier side” for the Pacific Northwest.
