Meteorologists refer to March, April, and May as the spring months.  With spring just around the corner many of you are anxious to get into the yard.  It is still too early to plant many things, but it is a great time of the year to prepare the yard for the upcoming growing season.  Pollen is starting to fly, but the bugs are still under control.  It is now a race to get as much done as you can before the bugs become a problem.

    Spring is a transition time and in the South Carolina March is the most variable month.  The storm track is still far to the south and there can be great swings in the temperature.  With such variability the temperature outlook usually does not mean much.  The outlook for this year is equal chances that it could be colder, warmer, or near normal.  Many often make the mistake of planting too soon.  I always recommend that you wait until the second week of April.  The chance of a killing frost diminishes quickly by this time.

    One of the most important aspects of the outlook is precipitation and this year's outlook is not good.  The outlook for the spring is for drier than normal conditions for all of South Carolina.  This is particularly troubling since this is the drier start to the year in 71 years.  The deficit is already greater than six inches in Columbia as of this writing.

    There was an abrupt return of La Nina at the end of December and early January.  This tends to create dry spring conditions in the Southeast when this pattern in present.  The La Nina was a weak one and was projected to last into the spring.

    The La Nina is weakening and neutral conditions should return during the spring.  However, the effects of the La Nina should last into April.  The storm track will be farther north by that time and the winter rains will have faded.   It is difficult to say how long the drought will persist, but we may not get much relief until the summer rainy season.

    The combination of a very dry winter and a dry spring means that conservation of water will be a good idea again this year.  Make sure your sprinkler systems are in good working order.  Be sure to have plenty of mulch in the flower beds and gardens to trap moisture for the plants.  Hopefully, the drought won't last into the summer.

       To see the complete spring outlook from the Climate Prediction Center click here.