But today and the next few day we won't be quite so lucky as we'll be experiencing precipitation of several forms....booooooo! Today's post gets a little messy as we moved around the board taking a look at a lot of information and maps. Stick with me!
Today reached a high of 43F at 4:25pm. The current temperature is at 40F, but feels like 34F. Humidity is at 73%, with a dew point of 33F. Winds are coming from the NE around 9 mph with overcast sky conditions. As we know, any wind direction associated with the E should automatically make you think precipitation. By observing the low pressure systems just south of Wisconsin and Minnesota, we again should always think precipitation. Especially with winds coming from the NE over the Great Lakes we can expect to experience some sort of moisture in the air from the Lake Effect. Current advisory for the spring season and current weather conditions include a flood warning, a flood watch, a winter weather advisory, and a hazardous weather outlook.
This wind map shows fairly strong winds conditions, especially in the Midwest and Great Plains regions. When looking at the wind map we can see areas where different pressure systems are coming together.
Taking a look at the surface map we can compare this to the wind map above. Areas where the cold fronts are located are areas where differences in wind are coming together. With this surface map we can see the areas of high pressure that are moving towards areas of low pressure. This is defined by the cold fronts that are moving south from the north. We also know that air moves counterclockwise around low pressure systems. Although this isn't illustrated the best on this surface map we can see how moisture is moving into the states from the northern region of the Atlantic and moving it's way down southwest through the plains.
As much as tried to talk myself out of adding a second surface map that doesn't match the previous surface map the best I couldn't help but do it. Overall, we can see similar patterns associated with the first surface map, the difference is that now we're seeing stationary fronts instead of cold front. Typically, stationary fronts act as a railroad track for storms. Stationary fronts tend to form when polar air masses are modified significantly so they lose their character. Basically, this is an example of when a cold air mass stalls. These fronts don't necessarily indicate a halt in weather conditions, as they can be associated with lots of precipitation due to a stuck system. Typically, stationary fronts tend to be associated with the jet stream.
So, I'm going to go out on a little bit of a limb right now. I'm thinking that the two surface maps above area indicating a Colorado Low. A Colorado Low happens when a low pressure system forms in southern Colorado of Northern New Mexico, typically in winter. From there the systems move across the Great Plains and produce heavy wintery snow/mix. They tend to move northeast. From what I'm observing I'm thinking this might be what have here.
While looking at the jet stream map we can see where adjacent air masses with significant temperature differences are coming into contact with one another. This map shows cold, dry continental polar air masses coming down into contact with the warm, moist air coming up from the south. We can see the association the jet stream has with the air masses in the surface maps. Ridges are associated with cold air masses and troughs are associated with warm air masses, due to uplift. This jet stream map illustrates an extreme trough in the west, with a strong ridge coming up through the Great Plains. This ridge is associated with the low pressure systems that are lining this area in the first surface map. This is because low pressure systems turn counterclockwise at the surface and slow the jet stream down.
I thought this temperature map would be fun to show since jet streams area associated with air masses with significant temperature differences. This difference in temperature gradient is very similar to the contact of the differing air masses in the jet stream map.
Tonight's forecast calls for a low of 32F. Winds will continue to come in from the NE around 17 mph. The chance for precipitation is 100%. Precipitation is expected to fall in the form of sleet with the potential for some rain mix. Thunderstorms are also possible for tonight.
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