The calendar flipping to April will start cool but usher in a warm wave of air to the region by the weekend.

According to the National Weather Service, daytime highs in the 70s will begin Saturday and approach 80 by Sunday through the middle of next week, which is well above the typical average of the upper 50s.

April 1st also marks the first quarter of 2021 completed, and climate data from the National Weather Service indicates that the year so far has been mostly above average. The daily mean temperature locally is 44.2 and lows at 27.1, both above the typical marks of 39 and 21 through the first three months of the year. Precipitation has been just below average, with 3.93 inches recorded so far, just below 4.58 typically seen by now in Marion County. Total seasonal snowfall was approximately 44 inches, which was 10 above a typical winter in south central Iowa.