It’s been a long, frustrating April for many folks. We didn’t get the same level of severe weather that devastated the Souteast and mid Atlantic, but seemingly daily rains, cool temps and then flooding destroyed our hopes for a “normal” spring season. Now it appears those conditions have extended into the month of May, much to many outdoors people’s frustration.

It’s not as though we haven’t seen lousy springtime weather before. In fact, we had a similar situation three years ago, but this year’s version seems worse because it’s been so consistent. Whether it’s turkey hunting, fishing, gardening, or general outdoor tasks, conditions have been unfavorable to do them effectively. Now, just trying to keep our lawns mowed has become a challenge.

In reality there’s not much we can do to improve conditions, so the alternative is pretty simple – wait for the northern jet stream to move farther north and in a more normal pattern. However, if those previous springs that were basically washouts are any indication, we may jump ahead rather suddenly into summer-like conditions. As I and others have noticed in recent years, we often don’t have traditional spring and autumn weather seasons now, but rather summer and winter seasons, with little transition periods in between.