Dry air mass leads to frosty mornings, mild days

As Meteorologist, we look for trends and patterns to predict complex weather patterns.  One weather pattern seen this time of year is frosty temperatures.  You might think, “It’s May, we shouldn’t be dealing with freezing temperatures, right?”.  The last five years, the Milwaukee area has seen at least 2-3 days/May of frosty temperatures, and even freezing temperatures.  This is the third time a frost advisory or freeze warning has been in place so far this month.  Our average temperature for the month is running 5 degrees below normal. 

When is the last typical frost or freeze in the area? It depends on where you live.  Inland areas usually see their last freeze in mid-May, where lakeshore communities are a little sooner.  Would you believe that northern Wisconsin can still see freezing temperatures late May and early June? The Badger State is a fun place for meteorologists!

If you’re looking for a positive spin to this blog, there is one.  With the dry conditions in place and sunshine, days can get mild.  The one beast that can impact this is Lake Michigan.  Inland areas this weekend hit 60, and this will be a similar situation later today.  But, it’s May and we are looking for more warmth.  The 8-14 outlook from the Climate Prediction Center has the area trending warmer and under a good chance to be “above average” during that time period. - Ready Weather Morning Meteorologist Chris Nelson