After a historic freeze in February, Mississippi has since dealt with another cold snap, tornadoes and heavy rainfall in recent weeks.
National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Carpenter said the effects of La Niña, the climate pattern impacting weather globally with cooler-than-average waters in the Pacific Ocean, have played a key role in Mississippi's wacky weather.
"Probably the easiest thing to point it up as is just spring in Mississippi," said Carpenter, who works in the weather service's Jackson office. "You know ... there can be some pretty big swings as we go from winter."
Carpenter said one thing La Niña has influenced is the jet-stream pattern, ribbons of strong winds that travel across the globe. It can impact storms, temperatures and other weather patterns.