April Weather Outlook In MA: Warm, Not Very Wet

WORCESTER, MA — As we roll into the thick of spring in New England, the National Weather Service is out with long-range forecasts showing what the weather might be like through the end of the month.

The near-term forecast, which predicts the probability of weather over the next eight to 14 days, shows up to a 40 percent chance of below average precipitation across the state, and up to a 50 percent chance of warmer than average temperatures.

The probability over the next month: a high chance of precipitation right in the average range, and a 50 percent chance of higher-than-normal temperatures.

That might be bad news for Massachusetts. Three large parts of the state — including Bristol, Plymouth and Essex counties, and Franklin, Hampshire and Berkshire counties out west — are in the early stages of a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The entire state reached the "significant drought" stage at the end of last summer, leading to water bans across the state.

But the weather services' longest-term forecasts looking at the probability of weather over the next three months shows up to a 40 percent probability of higher-than-normal precipitation. The temperature outlook is also higher, however.

The very near forecast for the first week of April in the Worcester and MetroWest areas: highs near 60 each day and partly cloudy skies, and a chance of rain Friday evening.