Finally, it’s May.

Good riddance to April.

“It feels like March” was a common complaint on a good day. Other days felt like February.

But the National Weather Service says this April wasn’t much colder than average.

Temperatures rose into the 60s on five days of the past month, said NWS meteorologist Chris Kimble. “The observed average temperature for the first 29 days in Portland was 43.4 degrees,” he said. The average temperature for April is 44 degrees, he said.

That means last month was 0.7 degrees below normal, “not dramatically colder than average,” Kimble said.

But there seems to be a difference between the statistics and how cold it felt.

Retired farmer Elmer Whiting of Auburn thinks it was cold, and he’s still turning on the heat in his home.

Ditto for Ingrid Small of Norway, who appeared in a Sun Journal photo on April 24 wearing gloves, her fur hood up, her daughter and grandson wrapped in blankets. The group braved a cold April 23 afternoon to watch her granddaughter’s softball game.

She still has snow in her yard, she said.

“It snowed on April 16,” she said. “I took pictures of it.” Small is using her pellet stove for heat. “I’ll be using it into May,” she said. “I hope Memorial Day is warmer.”

Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry was thrilled with April’s weather.

The last day of skiing was Patriot’s Day, April 21, which is typical, spokeswoman Darcy Morse said. But “conditions were some of the best we’ve seen,” she said. “The temperatures weren’t warm enough to cause much melting.”

Meteorologist Kimble offered a reason so many considered April colder than normal.

The winter was unusually cold and long, he said. “Snow stayed on the ground into spring.” March was the fourth coldest on record and the last few days of April were cold and drizzly.

With April ending below average, “this marks the sixth straight month that Portland has seen below-normal temperatures.” That has likely gotten lots of people eager for warm weather, Kimble said.

With the turn of the calendar, the good news is that temperatures in May should range from a low of 44.2 degrees to 63.5 degrees. Historically, the May average temperature is 53.9 degrees.

And typically, seven days in May will see temperatures go into the 70s.

“We can say with a good amount of confidence that we will finally hit 70 for the first time this year in May,” Kimble said.

Maybe those winter jackets finally can be moved to the basement.

bwashuk@sunjournal.com

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