First Alert Weather In-Depth: The dramatic change in our spring weather

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — We have all heard the old saying, “just wait a minute the weather will change.” That can best describe our spring season here in Western New York. And it is illustrated when you look at the last couple of days.

Last Wednesday we had a temperature that was near 40 degrees for the entire day, and then this weekend the temperature shot up to 70 degrees.

Why does this happen? There are still some significant differences in the temperature from north to south and east to west in the United States and this has a direct impact on our own temperature variations.

An easier way to understand this is to take a step back and look at the last 90 days in Rochester. If you compare the average temperature and the average snowfall there are some dramatic differences during that time period. During the month of March, the average temperature is only about 35 degrees, but of course, it goes up steadily as we head into the month of April. April has an average temperature of 47 degrees and in the month of May, it stands at almost 60 degrees. So that is an increase of almost 25 degrees in a 90-day time period.

Naturally, snowfall is going to be dropping off through the spring season. The average is about 18 inches for the month of March. But by April and May, there is very little accumulation and by the month of May, it has all but come to an end.

However, no doubt it is a cautionary tale. Keep in mind the latest snowfall that we have ever measured in Rochester is May 19.