April showers get all the attention, but it’s only half the formula. Those May flowers need sunshine, too.

That will be in short supply this week. The cooler-than-average active pattern will likely last through this week, and possibly through next week, too.

Monday will actually be a decent day, all things considered.

Sure, high temperatures will be below the normal of 60°, but it won’t be too chilly. Clouds thicken up through the day, with just a few showers or sprinkles expected overnight into Tuesday.

While one weak storm system falls apart over Maine on Tuesday, a second one moves up through the Great Lakes region.

Tuesday will be mostly cloudy, but showers should be few and far between. High temperatures will stay in the 50s.

Wednesday is likely the wettest day of the week. As wind shifts to be onshore, temperatures at the coast may not even make it above 50°.

Showers begin early in the morning and last through most of the day. While they do not look particularly heavy, it will still add a fair amount of gloom to the day. Expect it to be pretty raw from sunrise to sunset.

As the fronts clear Thursday, a northwest wind and lots of sunshine will bring about the nicest day of the week.

High temperatures may finally hit 60° just about everywhere. A few spots might even make it into the mid 60s through the day.

Friday and the weekend are up in the air a bit for now. There’s going to be a storm that approaches New England, but high pressure may be enough to keep it suppressed to the south.

For now, I’m hedging sunny and cool through Sunday.

Still, the May 7-11 period looks cool.

The pattern certainly favors cooler conditions until the middle of the month. Maybe, just maybe, we can will warm up after.

For reference, Portland usually has its first 70° on April 19th and first 80° on May 9. We haven’t even made it to 70° yet this year, and I think 80° by May 9 is very unlikely.

We’ll see how the rest of May goes.

Check me out on Twitter, @MikeSliferWX, if you want to hear more weather musings.