MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - The Mid-South has skipped spring and jumped right into summer with record temperatures. This month is the warmest March ever on record for Memphis with nine days climbing into the 80's. Five days out of the month broke or tied records. The average temperature for March is 54 degrees.
Tom Salem, National Weather Service Meteorologist, says, "The hottest day was 85 degrees on March 20th. The coldest we've had is 34 degrees on the 4th." Salem says the weather pattern in spring looks more like a pattern the Mid-South should see during the summer.
The last time March was this warm was 2007. The same year, freezing temperatures arrived for Easter weekend. Historically, April 25th is the last day the Mid-South could expect temperatures below freezing.
"As we get closer to April 25th, it looks less likely, but we're not out of the woods yet," says Salem.
April is forecast to bring above normal temperatures to the Mid-South, but the warm spring isn't a guarantee for a blistering summer. The mild winter, however, has helped reduce flooding potential along the Mississippi River for the spring season.
For the first time in four years, the risk for major flooding along the Mississippi River is low. Last spring, melting snow in the upper Midwest and heavy rain across the Ohio Valley caused the Mississippi River level to crest at nearly 48 feet at Memphis. That will not happen this year.
Steve Barry, Chief of Readiness Branch Army Corps of Engineers, says, "There's not been the snowfall and snow melt across the northern U.S. which contributed greatly to the floods last year."
