by Northern News Now meteorologist Dave Anderson
I recently got to go into Two Harbor’s lighthouse for one of the history stories I do every Monday night on Channel 6. What a cool place with two foot thick walls to weather any storm which the place has done since 1892. Of course, Split Rock has been doing the same thing for almost as long.
March storms battered both places last month as the North Shore bore the brunt of a couple of late winter / early spring maelstroms. April started with another such storm but the rest of the month should be calmer.
March turned out to be one degree warmer than normal. Precipitation continued to be less than normal but not as bad as last year. Since January 1st, we are down a half inch in rain equivalent which would be about five inches in snow.
April may run four degrees warmer than normal. Precipitation may continue to be a half inch shy of normal. I feel this is semi-good news for gardeners. Heat has been getting a bad rap due to climate change concerns but gardeners and farmers know crops don’t grow in the cold. On the other hand, most folks who work the soil around here know even a warm April could be too good to be true. People who heed the siren’s call to garden early often get disappointed by May cold snaps.
This April should run sunny and mild from the first to the 12th. The 13th to 20th could be full of the classic April showers. The 21st to 30th should be showery and warm.
The Lake County Historical Society folks tell me they’ll have the light in the Two Harbors lighthouse running again by the Fourth of July. That and warm temperatures will be something for us to look forward to!
