CNN
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March may mean the arrival of spring, but Mother Nature doesn’t always get that memo. Weather this weekend will include snow, tornadoes and the potential for fires across the United States.
“A strong storm system will move from the southwestern US through the Midwest later this week, spreading the potential for severe fire, snow and even severe weather on its way,” it said. . chad myersCNN meteorologist.
Severe storms are expected for 50 million people in the Mid-South and Midwest, which typically experience fewer such events at this time of year. The main hazards include damaging winds, although some tornadoes and hail are also possible.
Severe thunderstorms are expected to hit Iowa, including Des Moines, primarily in the afternoon and evening. Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri; And Madison, Wisconsin can also see a severe storm on Saturday.
“It’s rare to have severe weather in the north earlier this year, but it’s not unprecedented,” said Bill Bunting, head of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center. “It certainly doesn’t happen every year.”
Typically in March, severe weather focuses on the Gulf Coast states from Texas to Florida. For example, Texas averages 11. tornado in marchWhereas Iowa usually only sees two.
By Sunday, the severe storm will move south, with the greatest threat from Paduka, Kentucky, back to Dallas. Those storms are most likely to hit Sunday afternoon through Monday morning, with some tornadoes as well as destructive winds.
While most places will not receive heavy rains, flooding will still be a concern in areas along the Ohio River Valley, particularly in Kentucky, where the ground is still moist from very wet February. With many rivers still above flood stage, weekend rains can prolong flooding on main rivers and renew it on smaller creeks and streams.
The interesting weather setup of the weekend is due to the cold front producing winter weather in the northern plains and upper Midwest. As the front dives south into the Mississippi River Valley, it will encounter temperatures of 20 to 30 degrees above normal.
“The unusually warm air mass established this week will allow the storm’s ‘warm area’ (which will be prone to thunderstorms and severe weather) to extend all the way to Iowa and southern Minnesota, which is unusually far away from it. North in early spring,” said Brandon Miller, CNN meteorologist.
Meanwhile, parts of the Upper Midwest — where temperatures still feel like winter — will have to deal with snow, hail and freezing rain.
“Saturday Won’t Be the Ideal Day to Drive,” at the National Weather Service Office Marquette, Michigan, tweeted,
Areas of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota will see different types of rainfall over the weekend. Many places will receive a mix of snow, hail and snow before turning into rain or snowfall on Saturday morning as temperatures will remain warm until the afternoon.
From Saturday night through Sunday morning, the rain will turn to snow and hail again as temperatures drop below freezing again.
This would be a relatively fast-moving system, with not a lot of time to dump a large amount of snow. Most areas of Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan will rise 2 to 5 inches, with 6-8 inches of spacing.
From Kansas City to Milwaukee and east to Knoxville, Tennessee, temperatures will be 20 to 30 degrees above normal Saturday. Once the front passes, those temperatures will drop sharply.
How cold will it be in your city?
For example, Chicago will go from a high-temperature Saturday in the mid-60s to a high Monday with the potential for snow in the low to mid-30s.
A similar decline will be seen in St. Louis, going from a high in the mid-70s to a high Saturday in the low lows in the mid-40s on Monday.
Further west, elevated and severe fire weather conditions are expected in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas later this week.
“Locally expected winds of 20-30 mph with higher gusts,” according to Hurricane Prediction Center, “The relative humidity is 15-20% probable, although values near 10% are not out of the question.”
According to a news release, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday issued a declaration of emergency “due to the potential for wildfires in the state on Friday and Saturday.”
According to the National Weather Service office in Topeka, “strong winds and low relative humidity with an abundance of dry vegetation will once again cause an extreme fire threat in central Kansas on Saturday afternoon.”
Kelly urges “all Consons to be vigilant.”
The unseasonably hot temperatures in the southern plains that began on Friday will turn east and south over the weekend.
Record high temperatures are possible in more than 40 cities from Mississippi to Massachusetts this weekend, but it doesn’t last long. By Wednesday, most cities return to either normal or below-normal temperatures and remain there for the rest of the week.