Finally spring weather has returned to the Columbia Basin. Most farms reached into the 60s the last couple days for the first time since early November around four and a half months ago. And this also breaks the string of over 40 days in a row of below normal temperatures. The remaining snow cover is mainly north of Pasco and east of Highway 395. The high pressure ridge that brought the warm and dry conditions is weakening and moving east. Look for a Pacific front to bring a few light showers tonight and drop temperatures closer to normal for Saturday and Sunday. Another front will bring a little better chance for showers Monday with unsettled conditions and slightly below normal temperatures continuing Tuesday into Thursday. RainfaIl of a tenth to quarter inch is expected with farms east of Highway 395 getting a quarter to half inch. So, additional field work and planting delays appear likely. Where the snow has now been gone for several days, the warmer temperatures have greened up pastures and winter wheat. Soil temperatures in these areas have jumped to the mid and upper 40s. Yesterday, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center issued the outlook for April and is calling for warmer and drier than normal. They expect a rather persistent ridge over the western states will control the weather pattern at least the first half of April. May through July is also predicted warmer than normal with near to below normal rainfall.