Shift from La Niña to El Niño points to cooler, drier spring through June for Minnesota

Spring is a season of change, and we have already seen plenty of those changes this year. But this year's outlook is giving us some hints at what we can expect for the rest of the season. As of late, the warmth is winning, but Minnesotans know all too well that winter can often make a quick encore.

"(The year) 2018 always comes to mind, with the big thunder blizzard we had," said Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Climatologist Pete Boulay. "We can still get snow in April, so I wouldn't say we're completely done with winter yet."

On average, April in the Twin Cities brings 3.5 inches of snow. The Climate Prediction Center is showing more likely odds that April will be wetter than average, but Boulay said that doesn't necessarily mean snow.

"The trend is for us to be kind of in that dividing line between winter and spring, so as long as we're in that dividing line, it'll be active. So we do have a chance for storm systems to move across our area," Boulay said.

As for temperatures, the Climate Prediction Center says it's a toss-up in April, with equal chances for most of the state being either below or above average.

Looking further down the road through June, the Climate Prediction Center shows equal chances for both temperatures and precipitation. Boulay says the fact that the region is transitioning from La Niña to El Niño could give some hints.

"The springs tend to be a little bit cooler and a little bit drier than normal. Not to say we can't have any big storms that can still happen at any time, but in general, seem to be a cooler, drier pattern for the spring," he said.

As the growing season nears, he said that could spell more problems for the drought, which is still in place across most of the state.

"One thing that stands out is the potential for the drought to get worse is there," Boulay said. "We don't want anything bad, like a 1976 to happen, but the potential is there and something to think of."