Many springs which start wet, stay wet

Thundery downpours are history for a couple of days. The sun’s back and stronger than ever Tuesday and Wednesday. Days this time of year are nearly four hours longer than in December and sunlight is four times as strong. It’s a big reason temperatures trend higher at the second fastest pace of any month through April.
Recent rainfall has made a dent in this area’s drought. But, with deficits as large as those on the books, rainfall will have to keep coming regularly. The first three months of 2006—as well as the opening days of April—have posted rainfall surpluses. It’s a trend which has been observed before in La Nina springs. (La Ninas are declared when equatorial Pacific waters west of South America cool, impacting global weather.) Past years with similar rain patterns have remained wetter than normal the rest of April as well as through meteorological spring (which ends May 31).
-Tom Skilling