The groundhog's prediction for an early spring is proving wrong in New York City, where a cold front has kept temperatures about 7 degrees below the historical average this month, the National Weather Service said.

Just 10 days into April, temperatures have averaged 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius), about one degree warmer than the average for April 1874, the coldest on record, said Michael Silva, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Upton, New York, station.

"A polar vortex that originated from northern Canada dropped south and parked itself over the northern U.S.,'' Silva said. "Temperatures are starting to creep back up, but we're still about 5 degrees below normal today.''

Boston has also seen temperatures about 7 degrees below normal, while Chicago has averaged about 5 degrees below normal since the beginning of April.

Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians team moved its home opener against the Anaheim Angels to Miller Park in Milwaukee after Jacob's Field was blanketed with about 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow this weekend. The Milwaukee ballpark has a retractable roof.

In New York's Central Park, April temperatures averaged 53 degrees Fahrenheit in the 30-year period ended 2000, the weather service said. Daily averages have fallen as much as 14 degrees below the norms in the past week.

In February, Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring when he didn't see his shadow, in keeping with a German superstition. The annual tradition holds that another six weeks of winter is in store if the groundhog sees his shadow.

New Yorkers should be able to leave winter coats at home starting this weekend, when temperatures are forecast to reach the mid-50s as a rain storm moves through the region, Silva said.

"It looks like we'll be warming up over the next couple of days," he said. "It's way too early to make a determination on whether this will be the coldest April."