Spring weather will come, but it’ll be a while

Old Man Winter isn’t giving up without a fight.

Though spring begins Tuesday, any real, sustained warmth for most Americans will likely be a few weeks away, according to federal forecasters.

The next two weeks will feature unusually chilly temperatures from coast to coast, the Climate Prediction Center said. By early to mid-April, however, temperatures should finally flip to warmer-than-average for most of the nation. That warmth should last through June.

“Odds favor above-average temperatures for the southern two-thirds of the U.S., extending from California across the central Plains and into the Northeast,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its spring forecast released Thursday.

The greatest likelihood of above-average temperatures is across the nation’s southern tier, from the Southwest across Texas and along the Gulf Coast.

Hawaii and the northern half of Alaska should also be warmer than average, NOAA said.

The only part of the nation that should see persistently cool weather through the spring is the northern Rockies, mainly in Montana.

As for rain, the soggiest spots should be the Upper Midwest, around the Great Lakes and in the Northeast. Drier weather is likely in the Southwest.

La Niña, a cooling of Pacific Ocean water that affects weather and climate in the U.S. and around the world, continues to weaken, NOAA said. “It appears La Niña is on its last legs,” said Mike Halpert of the Climate Prediction Center. However, its lingering influence was still considered in this April-June outlook.