March Weather to Hold its own

More of the same right on through the first half of the weekend. After a week of above normal temperatures, we are stuck in a pattern of chilly weather. Welcome to April! A cut-off area of low pressure off to the northeast will slowly sift to the east over the next few days. For the Midwest, this means that winds will come straight out of Canada and usher in cold air. Areas near the lakes will be even cooler and water temperatures continue to be cool.
Meanwhile, another storm system will move up from the four corners regions and set up for a soggy, yet much need rain across central parts of the Midwest. Relief does set in by Sunday and next week as temperatures climb back to normal levels and the sun peaks out yet again.

Chasing Historic Midwest Tornadoes

Well, it has been a crazy 24 hours! My video and comments have been on local news around the country. I currently have a broker licensing my video of an EF-4 tornado to media outlets. It all started after bailing from a separate tornadic cell after it began to get wrapped in rain. After getting ahead of that cell, another super cell began to form to the east, so we chased after it. Witnessed the funnel form and then touch down. We then reported to emergency management, 2 minutes later a warning was issued. It rapidly grew into a large tornado. We stayed with it for an hour and 15 minutes before losing it in the darkness and trees. It might be safe to say I will never see anything like that again. It was historic. Here is our chase video:

Major Severe Weather Outbreak Likely Thursday

Thursday could feature large and damaging thunderstorms across a highly populated area Thursday. A strong cyclone will bring in warm and moist air from the south. This will fuel thunderstorm development, with large amounts of shear and instability some of the storms could be damaging. There will be a threat for large and long track tornadoes as well. Right now it looks like the largest threat will be from the Mississippi River up toward Chicago. Be sure to watch the latest local forecasts.

Severe Weather and Heavy Rain on the Way, for some

Another round of severe weather and heavy rain will impact the Ohio River valley Thursday. A strong storm system that brought severe weather and 80+ degree temperatures to Minneapolis is pushing south and east. With a humid air mass in place and a cold front crashing south east, storms will have an ample amount of energy to work with, as well as a strong trigger in the form of a cold front. The main threat for severe weather will be damaging winds, along a squall line, with embedded areas of large to damaging hail.

Meanwhile, heavy rain looks to be an even larger problem. With deep Gulf moisture streaming north ahead of the strong cyclone over the Midwest, dew point and humidity will be primed for heavy rain. Precipiatable water values support almost a half of a foot of rain, Luckily, this area is running somewhat below average in recent precipitation. At the same time, 5" of rain across the Ohio River could cause major problems. A flash flood watch has been posted by the National Weather Service, in anticipation of the heavy rain over the next 48 hours.