The cold weather that returned to key natural gas consuming regions this month could stay through April, leading to lower-than-expected season ending gas storage levels, Weather Services International (WSI) said in its spring forecast released on Monday. Meanwhile, power prices in the Northeast will be moderated by the cooler weather expected over the next three months, the company said.

WSI expects cooler than normal temperatures in April across the Plains, Northeast, northern Rockies and the California coast. Warmer than normal temperatures are expected in the Southeast, Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and much of the intermountain West. In May cooler than normal temperatures are expected in the East, with warmer than normal weather across most of the West. And then in June, WSI predicts that temperatures will be cooler than normal only along the coastal sections of the country, with warmer than normal temperatures over most of the U.S. interior regions.

“We expect a pretty cold April in the Northern and Central Plains, along with cool weather in the Northeast,” said WSI seasonal forecaster Todd Crawford. “As spring progresses, temperatures should warm up in the Plains and most of the interior United States while coastal cities remain cool.”

Over the April-June period, WSI expects temperatures on average to be warmer than normal in most locations with the exceptions being in the Great Lakes, Northeast and along the Gulf and Pacific coasts.

WSI added that normal to wetter than normal precipitation in California over the three-month period leads to an expectation for a return to normal hydro power output.

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