Heavy Rain, Flooding, Thunderstorms on Tap for Central US

Posted: April 5, 2021 2:49 pm

It was a mild Easter weekend for much of the nation. However, the disruptive storm pattern is about to take center stage again in the central US, bringing heavy rain and severe thunderstorms for the first full week of April.

Active Storm Pattern in Contrast to Mild Weather: It was a beautiful start to April throughout the central US. Cities such as Kansas City, Omaha, and Minneapolis enjoyed temperatures that were up to 25 degrees above normal over the weekend. The region will want to make the most out of the last day of great weather on Monday before storms start to set up on Tuesday.

When and Where the Storms Are Likely: The storms will first fire up in Minnesota and parts of northwestern Wisconsin late Monday. These thunderstorms have the potential of producing large hail and gusty winds that could cause widespread damage to the affected areas. The drought-stricken Upper Plains may appreciate this soaking rain, particularly after last week’s wildfires that spread throughout South Dakota.

After Monday’s chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain, a new storm will fire up in the northern and central Plains on Tuesday, bringing the potential of more rain to the areas hit late Monday. This second storm will make its presence known late Tuesday and into Wednesday. Areas expected to be hit by this system include southern Nebraska, the bulk of Kansas, northern Oklahoma, and western Missouri. The northwestern corner of Arkansas may also see the threat of severe weather from this system. Wichita and Kansas City will be in the line of fire for these storms.

Moving On: This system will then track to the east on Wednesday, providing the same threat of severe weather into eastern Oklahoma, southern Iowa, and the majority of the Mississippi River Valley. This includes the cities of Little Rock, St. Louis, and Memphis. While the greatest risk of severe weather will be heavy rain and gusty thunderstorms, it will not be unexpected to see an isolated tornado pop up.

Northwest Also Experiencing Weather Whiplash: The Northwest is also in for some weather whiplash in the days ahead. Like the central US, this corner of the country has also been reveling in the warmer than average temperatures for this time of year. That will change this week as the mercury dips and wet weather moves in.

The interior Northwest has seen the largest uptick in temperatures. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Missoula, Montana, reported a high temperature of 72 degrees on Thursday. This broke a record set in 1966 by one degree. Boise, Idaho was also the beneficiary of the warm air in place, reaching 78 degrees on Saturday.

Wintry Conditions Setting Up Once Again: However, the mild weather was short-lived. A dip in the jet stream allowed wintry conditions to move across the Northwest on Easter. The higher terrains of Idaho and Montana even saw snow out of this system. This wintry precipitation is expected to continue Monday night and into Tuesday.

The Pacific Northwest will see a return to dry conditions late Monday and into Tuesday. It will take a bit longer for the nice weather to make its way back into the interior Northwest.