It’s hard to imagine it’s going to be April in a couple of days. If you really want to understand just how different this part of the country is temperature-wise right now, check out the map of highs for Monday. Summertime warmth isn’t that far off in terms of miles, but it might as well be on the other side of the planet.

We should be in the upper 40s and lower 50s during the afternoon hours this time of the year, but for the most part, cooler than average readings are going to continue for the next couple of weeks at least and it won’t surprise me if April is another cool month in comparison to averages.

Without any major snow or rain events, the weather is likely less important to many folks right than it was 4 weeks ago. I suppose the most pressing question is when does the snow finally melt? The biggest obstacle, besides the colder than average temperatures, continues to be the frozen ground underneath the snow. If all the snow had fallen on an unfrozen ground, it would be easier to melt right now. However, with the frost under the snow, it’s acting like a chilling unit and the only way to melt the snow is basically from the top down.

The ice is still thick on the lakes and ponds and although the ice has been leaving places like Sebago Lake earlier and earlier over the past 100 years, this is going to be year when the ice leaves closer to when it did the first half of the 20th century.

You might have noticed how little snow melted over the weekend. While little or no snow accumulated on the roads, the snowy surfaces did pick up nearly an inch of new snow in places. Unfortunately, much of the sun’s energy on Sunday had to go to melting the new snow before working on the old.

There are several weather systems that will affect the region in some way this week. The first, today, brings many clouds, a few showers of rain and even some wet snow in the higher elevations. With the lack of sunshine, it’s not going to be very warm.

Tuesday sees another system move south of the region. This could spill some cloudiness northward later in the day, but I expect any precipitation to remain south. Behind this passing storm, colder air will arrive for Wednesday with highs struggling out of the 30s into the lower 40s.

A milder flow of air does make an appearance for the end of the workweek with highs going from the 40s on Thursday to the 50s on Friday. There won’t be much sunshine Friday, but the showers and warm temperatures will melt more of the snow.

As high pressure returns for the weekend, the air will once again feel chilly and with a few flurries possible Saturday night, it’s not going to be very spring or Easter like.

Back in 1982 on April 6th and 7th a solid 1 to 2 feet of snow fell across much of Maine. What I remember as the Passover storm, prevented many from getting to their Seders and left a thick mantle of white. However, while 16 inches of snow was measured on the ground on April 8th, a week later it was basically just a memory.

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