ESCANABA — According to experts, spring, which officially began today, is expected to be colder and wetter than the past few spring seasons.

The National Weather Service (NWS) put out its seasonal temperature and precipitation outlook for March through May, indicating the possibility of more precipitation than normal.

According to the data, the U.P. is expected to have equal chances of being below or above the normal average.

However, most of the U.P., including Escanaba, is expected to see more precipitation than in years past.

The report indicates that most of the U.P. has a 33 to 40 percent chance of being above the normal amount or probability. The far eastern U.P. in Chippewa and Mackinac counties and lower Michigan are expected to have a 40 to 50 percent chance of precipitation being above normal.

“Spring in the UP is going to be very changeable,” said NWS Forecaster Greg Michaels.

He explained that the next few weeks will vary, saying some days will feel almost summer-like while others may feel like blizzard conditions.

Earlier outlooks in November and December 2024 called for above-normal temperatures, but that has since changed.

He said cooler air made its way to the U.P. in January, changing the seasonal outlook.

“Now we’re going for the equal chances, which this would be more of kind of a typical spring than what recently we’ve been having, which we had quite a long stretch of above normal temperatures for quite a few months,” he explained.

Michaels added that January and February of this year were the first months the area had back-to-back below-normal temperatures since 2022.

“We were one of the cooler than normal places in the country – in the world actually – in January and February,” Michaels said.

He said the past few springs have been drier and warmer than what was expected for the area, but this spring is expected to be more typical than it has in recent years.

“This one will probably be a little bit cooler and wetter than what we’ve seen in recent years,” he said.

“This spring is going to be cooler and wetter because we’re going to have the jet stream; that’s where the separation of the air masses from the warm air mass from the cold air mass is going to kind come over the area.”

Meaning the area could continue to see storm systems come along that track.

“The storm track will be just to the south of us. So we’ll end up with above-normal precipitation and generally be on the cold side of those systems. So that would tend to give us colder and wetter conditions,” he explained.

He advised the public to be prepared for varying weather, saying it could feel like summer one day and winter the next day.

“Drastic changes in temperatures are what I would be prepared for,” Michaels said.

To stay up to date on local weather patterns, visit https://www.weather.gov/mqt/ or call the NWS at (906) 475-5212.

The first day of Spring is today, March 20.