Swings before spring causes chilly weather

[TexasStooge]

By LINDA LEAVELL / DallasNews.com

If your sunny Saturday seems like a distant memory on chilly Tuesday, blame March madness.

The biggest swings are in March and April, both of which can vary by 21.9 degrees, based on the difference between their average high and low temperatures, according to National Weather Service statistics.

“In this transition period between winter and summer months, that’s usually when you expect your biggest swing,” NWS meteorologist Joe Harris said. “You get some very high high temperatures and that widens that gap.”

The average high in March is 68.3 degrees; the low is 46.4. In April, the high and low are 75.9 and 54 degrees, respectively.

Harris said that during the seasonal change periods like March, polar air makes its way from Canada and pushes the mercury way down. And strong southwest winds draw extremely warm air into the region, which is what sent temperatures soaring to 87 degrees Saturday.

Thus, Tuesday’s predicted high of 53 degrees is not unexpected. Skies will be cloudy and rain is in the forecast. The low should be 40 degrees.

Clouds and a 30 percent chance of rain before noon are in the forecast for Wednesday, when temperatures will range from 38 to 48 degrees. Thursday will be mostly sunny, with a high of 63 degrees.

By Friday, the high temperature will be 69 degrees. “See?” Harris said. “Wide swings.”

Of course, wide swings are relative. The biggest monthly gap may be 21.9 degrees, but the smallest is only 19.7 degrees in December.

What about those dreadful July and August months when it feels like 90 degrees in the morning and 100 degrees in the afternoon? Actually, there’s still a 20.8-degree gap in both months. It really is about 74 degrees when you wake up, then about 95 degrees later in the day.

The next biggest swing month is October, with an average high of 77.9 degrees and a low of 56.4 degrees, for a 21.5-degree gap. Harris says it gets back to his transition month theory.

“It’s kind of like you get a piece of winter here and there and a piece of summer here and there,” he said. “It does give you some real wide swings.”