Bearish weekend weather trends put pressure on natural gas futures in early trading Monday as analysts predicted potential volatility heading into the front-month expiration early this week.

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The expiring April Nymex contract was down 10.7 cents to $2.109/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET. May was off 10.4 cents to $2.257.

Weather models trended warmer over the weekend, though the outlook for the next 10 days showed enough cold for a “slight bullish lean,” according to NatGasWeather.

The latest data favored a “comfortable U.S. pattern” during the April 6-10 time frame, NatGasWeather said.

“Generally, temperatures across the northern U.S. will experience highs mostly in the 30s to 50s, with lows of teens to 30s for moderate demand,” the firm said. “There will be...