Forget the Groundhog. Sorry Phil, but I'm not buying your prediction of six more weeks of winter. It has been a mild and relatively dry winter so far in Iowa. Yes, I know that can change quickly in February and even into March. But I'm not taking the word of a rodent when I dream of Spring.

The first day of Spring is Thursday, March 20th. For the purpose of this article, our prediction will center on what the Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting for Iowa and the rest of the Midwest this spring. Drumroll, please! Iowa, get ready for a warmer-than-normal spring according to the Des Moines Register. The average high temperature in Iowa in April is 62 degrees. The Old Farmer's Almanac says temperatures will run around 3 degrees higher than average.

Tractor cultivating field at spring
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So what about precipitation? Will Iowa farmers be able to get in the field when they need to this Spring? The Register reports that the Old Farmer's Almanac predicts the state will see dry conditions with below-average rainfall. The waves of heat and dry conditions are expected to last right into summer. That is a weather pattern that we are a bit too familiar with.

So who is right? Punxsutawney Phil or the Old Farmer's Almanac? The Register reports that Phil only hits the mark around 40% of the time, so I'm not buying six more weeks of winter. I guess we'll have to do what we always do here in Iowa. Wait five minutes for the weather to change!

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Coldest Morning in Cedar Rapids History

On January 31, 2019, the mercury in Cedar Rapids hit -30. That's the actual temperature that morning, which set the new record for the coldest temperature in Cedar Rapids history, with records dating back to 1893. The previous all-time record low temperatures for the city was -29 on January 15, 2009.

Gallery Credit: Julie James

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

Gallery Credit: Anuradha Varanasi

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