For the last part of April, above to well above temperatures are expected over the lower 48 from the foothills of the Rockies to the west coast. Average to below average temperatures are expected elsewhere with the coolest anomalies near the Great Lakes, the SE and deep south Texas. For the latter half of this period, it will be slowly but steadily warming up in the east.

This week features a blizzard lifting out of the northern Plains early and a warm -up in the east. A brief shock of quite cool air will traverse the West Coast and inter-mountain west as a cold upper trough from the Gulf of Alaska digs into the Great Basin early in the week , but temperatures will rebound after mid week as the trough weakens and a strong summer-like ridge builds onshore. Meanwhile, the trough digging over the west will build the ridge in the east, and milder conditions will develop in the SE and spread NE through the week, only to start cooling off next weekend as cool air from the western trough finally pushes across the Midwest and onto the East Coast by Saturday. The Northern Plains blizzard will weaken early and move through Wisconsin and into western Ontario tomorrow, but in its wake cold air will stream south along the foothills, as far as southern Colorado by early Tuesday morning.

Some severe weather is expected from the digging western trough this week including another late-spring snowstorm for Colorado beginning tomorrow afternoon that is likely to continue until Wednesday evening. As the surface reflection ( a surface low pressure area) of the upper trough lifts out of the Great Basin and heads toward northern Quebec by Saturday, its trailing cold front will produce rain and thunderstorms...occasionally severe...on a line from Iowa to S Texas mid week, creeping east to a line from southern Michigan to Louisiana early Friday and right along the eastern seaboard by Saturday morning.

Monday afternoon much of Southern California, especially the high deserts, will be subject to very strong winds and much cooler temperatures as the Great Basin low deepens and high pressure builds offshore, creating a strong pressure gradient. Winds will abate Tuesday.

In spite of troublesome excursions of cold air from western Canada and Alaska into the lower 48, the sun's elevation is now the same as it is in late August. Consequently, cold intrusions are rapidly modified, and NG demand for space heating is dropping precipitously. This week's numbers will feature an injection of around 30 bCF...lower than average, but still an injection, as will next week's. Toward the end of the month the near record warmth forecast to develop in the west by this weekend will begin to shift east, and injections should normalize. Although NG prices have risen due to short-term weather, further price increases would surprise me. Coal is very cheap compared to NG now.