Another weekend, another rainy, chilly spell. When will it begin to really feel like spring in the Berkshires?

Spring may have sprung, but so far, there’s not much “spring” in her step. Though there have been several mild days in the past two weeks, an unseasonable chill persists, with grey, gloomy skies and cold bursts of rain. As the poet T.

S. Eliot proclaimed 103 years ago in “The Waste Land,” “April is the cruelest month.” Saturday: Rain, breezy, mid-40s.



More showers at night, mid-30s. Sunday: Showers likely until early afternoon, then mostly cloudy, high near 50. Rain showers overnight, low near freezing.

Monday: Early-morning snow showers likely, then clearing, high around 45. A chance of rain and snow showers overnight, low in the upper 20s. Tuesday: A chance of early morning snow showers, then partly sunny, high 35-40.

Partly cloudy at night, low near 20. Wednesday: Mostly sunny, low 40s, then partly cloudy after dark, low around 25. Thursday: Mostly sunny, near 50.

Cloudy at night, around 30. Friday: Overcast, some rain showers in the afternoon, high around 50, down to the low-30s at night. Saturday (April 12): Rain at times, high around 50.

Sources: National Weather Service and AccuWeather.com This weekend into next week shapes up as cruel indeed. Clouds and rain will prevail, with daytime highs stuck in the 40s, though skies may clear in time for a few hours of sunshine on Sunday afternoon.

Then, there’s a good chance of predawn snow showers on Monday and Tuesday. Normal temperatures for early April in the Berkshires range from the low 30s to the low 50s. The culprit is a deep, unseasonably cool pool of air from the Great Lakes and southern Canada, said Paul Caiano, chief meteorologist for NewsChannel 13 and WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

“Knowing how to dress for the weather in the Northeast from one day to the next can be a real challenge as chill and warmth change hands multiple times next week,” AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski pointed out in an online report. “Some people may wish they wore shorts and short sleeves one day, then scramble for jackets and fleece the next.” Beginning on Tuesday, there’s high confidence in temperatures well below normal, along with gusty winds, according to t he National Weather Service in Albany, N.

Y. On Thursday and Friday, a slight warmup is expected, though the long-range forecast from AccuWeather.com indicates more rain and chilly temperatures for the weekend of April 12-13.

Worth noting: This weekend, a catastrophic, potentially heavy rainfall and flash flood event along with multiple tornadoes are creating misery and life-threatening conditions from the lower Ohio Valley to the mid-South, Caiano reported. Some areas may see 10 to 15 inches of rain through the weekend, equaling four months’ worth of average rainfall in just two days. Looking back at March and the winter weather season: Extremes prevailed.

Total snowfall at 47 inches was nearly 30 inches below the historical average of 76 inches at Pittsfield Municipal Airport. Only an inch of snow fell in March, compared to the normal total of 15 inches for the month. The “heaviest” snowfall was only 8 inches on Jan.

19. A two-day snowstorm on Feb. 16-17 also “piled up” 8 inches.

There were frequent light snowfalls, each ranging from a trace to 2 inches, in January and February. March temperatures were 5 degrees above normal, a significant departure that yielded a 20 percent savings in heating costs for the month. There were 22 above-average days, with double-digit deviations on 10 of them.

The monthly high was 68 on March 31, though far below the 86 degree record set during a mini-heat wave in 1998. The Climate Prediction Center’s extended outlook for April 12-18 indicates near-normal temperatures and above-average rainfall in the Berkshires. For the rest of the month , it’s too close to call, according to the CPC, with equal chances of above or below normal rainfall and temperatures.

Day by day ...

Saturday: Rain, breezy, mid-40s. More showers at night, mid-30s. Sunday: Showers likely until early afternoon, then mostly cloudy, high near 50.

Rain showers overnight, low near freezing. Monday: Early-morning snow showers likely, then clearing, high around 45. A chance of rain and snow showers overnight, low in the upper 20s.

Tuesday: A chance of early morning snow showers, then partly sunny, high 35-40. Partly cloudy at night, low near 20. Wednesday: Mostly sunny, low 40s, then partly cloudy after dark, low around 25.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, near 50. Cloudy at night, around 30. Friday: Overcast, some rain showers in the afternoon, high around 50, down to the low-30s at night.

Saturday (April 12): Rain at times, high around 50. Sources: National Weather Service and AccuWeather.com.