The weather winter passed without much fanfare in Rhode Island, where the weather was warmer and less snowy than usual.
Looking ahead, with March 1 marking the first day of spring meteorologically, the National Weather Service says there's a good chance Rhode Island will have a warmer-than-normal spring. It will also likely be wetter than usual.
“We're looking for higher than normal temperatures across the Northeast,” said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts.
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March doesn't live up to its “lion-like” reputation. Temperatures should rise to around 50 degrees on Saturday and mid-50s on Sunday, but rain late Saturday and early Sunday could put a damper on the plans of anyone looking to get to work in the spring yard.
It has taken a while for winter to start, if it has even started, in southern New England. Providence only had a trace of snow in December, tying it with six other Decembers that had only a trace of snow. December 1927 is the only December since 1904 in which it did not snow.
Both January and February were actually snowier than normal, with 10.7 inches in the Providence area for January, compared to the normal of 10.3, and 10.5 inches in February, when the average was 7.6 inches.
However, each winter month was warmer than usual. The average temperature for December was 47.6 while the normal was 43.4. January was 39 (38.3) and February was 34.6 (32).
Snow in the Midwest and Canada could impact southern New England's spring
Winter weather could play a role in the spring forecast, according to Alex DaSilva, a long-range meteorologist at commercial forecasting service AccuWeather.
Like the National Weather Service, AccuWeather is predicting a mild but wet spring in southern New England, according to DaSilva.
“We expect temperatures to be two to three degrees above average,” DaSilva said.
According to DaSilva, warmer than normal ocean temperatures and a lack of snow in the Midwest and eastern Canada play a role in this forecast. Air flowing into New England from the Midwest and Canada remains cold if it passes over a snowpack, he said.
Just because the calendar says spring doesn't mean we're safe from snow, according to DaSilva. AccuWeather is monitoring a system that could bring a mix of rain and snow to the area sometime March 8-10.
“At this point, it doesn't look like a huge snow storm,” he added.
Providence typically receives 6.4 inches of snow in March.
AccuWeather also says this spring could be windier than usual, especially in late April and May. The expected warmer air will help fuel those storms, DaSilva said.
