COOL CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO DELAY SPRING'S GLORY

More than a month after the first day of spring, much of the country, including Southeast Missouri, hasn't seen much in the way of spring temperatures.

Cool, wet weather has delayed growth of plants, development of leaves on trees, and peach and apple crops.

"The weather we're seeing right now is comparable to that of mid-to-late March," said Al Robertson, climatologist and professor of earth science at Southeast Missouri State University. "Spring in Cape Girardeau is running about two to three weeks behind schedule."

It actually was warmer during the last 10 days of March than it has been this month, said Robertson.

The average temperature for the period March 21-31 was 52.4 degrees, which was warmer than the long-term average for the period of 49.8 degrees. But the April 1-10 average was down 5.6 degrees, and it was down 2 degrees for the period April 11-21.

"For the month, the average temperature is down 4 degrees from the long-term average," Robertson said. "The average daily temperature for the first 20 days of April has been 3.5 degrees below the normal average for each of those days. That is significant, especially when temperatures the next couple of days will average well below normal."

During the first 20 days of April, the daily high was at or above 70 degrees just four times. On eight of the 21 days, the overnight low was in the mid and upper 30s.

Charles Korns, professor of horticulture at the university, said the cool, wet weather of March and April has delayed the growing season by about two weeks.

"I've seen very little garden work going on this month," said Korns. "First, the ground has been too wet to plant, and what has already been planted in home gardens isn't growing because the ground is too wet and cold."

Korns said a frost April 17 and one earlier in the month may have damaged tomato and pepper plants if they were not protected. "You can be sure the frost certainly hasn't helped them any," he said. "But I have not seen any indication of widespread damage caused by the cool weather, other than it has delayed the growth and development of plants, shrubs, and trees."

Korns said dogwood trees, which should be in full bloom now, are only starting to bloom in Cape Girardeau.

Said Korns: "Normally, forsythia bushes would be blooming in mid-March; this year they didn't bloom until early April. It appears we are going to have a very late spring. It wouldn't surprise me to see us go from spring right into a hot summer, but at least we've got a good supply of moisture in the ground right now."

Robertson blamed the cool, wet spring on a split jet stream that has kept the sub-tropical jet stream farther south than normal. That has blocked warmer air in the Gulf of Mexico from moving north. Robertson said that at the same time the storm track that guides low-pressure centers across the United States has remained at a lower-than-normal latitude the past 45 days.

The same weather pattern is expected to stay around for a while. The National Weather Service's 30-day outlook through mid-May calls for below normal temperatures and below average precipitation for Missouri.