Spring gets off to a chilly start

It’s officially spring, but with temperatures having dipped as low as negative 25 in some parts of the U.P. overnight, it may not feel that way just yet. A number of factors contributed to the chilly spring air.

“Number one: Lake Superior still has a lot of ice on it. Number two: last night, the winds were very light, there was no cloud cover, and with a lot of snow still on the ground, it sets the stage for the perfect way for us to lose a lot of heat to outer space and temperatures to fall very rapidly,” said Matt Zika, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Marquette.

The National Weather Service says that the U.P. should see the last of the bitter cold this week before things start to warm up. The early spring sun will also help those venturing outdoors feel a little bit warmer.

“We’re already into late March,” Zika added. “The sun is extremely strong this time of year, almost like it is in the middle of the summer, and so, just with the sheer fact of the sun being out, even though the thermometer is saying a temperature is really low, the sun being out has a huge impact on actually making it feel warmer out there.”

With a record 61 days of sub-zero temperatures so far this year, the impending warm-up will likely be a breath of fresh air after a long, bitter winter.