Signs point to the return of a colder weather pattern across much of the nation for the latter part of March and beginning of April
The 2024 baseball season gets underway on Thursday March 28th and a sneak peak at the weather from this vantage point suggests the weather could be on the cold side across much of the nation. Still a couple weeks away, but there are signs that a widespread colder-than-normal air mass could first envelop Canada to the north by the last week of March and then perhaps slide into the US right around the starting date of March 28th.
April has been rather chilly on average during the last six years with below-normal temperatures across much of the nation
While the winter season was generally warmer-than-normal across much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation, it would not be too unusual to see a shift to colder-than-normal conditions for the early part of the spring. In fact, a look at the temperature anomalies across the nation during the month of April in the six years of 2018-2023 shows colder-than-normal conditions across much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation and there is a chance that this coming April continues that trend.
In terms of the Home Run Forecast Index, colder-than-normal conditions at the start of the 2024 baseball season would raise the chances for low index values (e.g., 1 or 2) in many big league baseball stadiums locations which would suggest unfavorable weather for hitting home runs.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian