WIND ADVISORY

A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT TODAY

Strong and gusty southerly winds have developed today. Sustained winds of 25-35 mph with gusts to 45 mph can be expected generally along and west of highway 65. Winds this strong can make driving difficult especially for high profile vehicles. Drive with caution!

SEVERE STORMS POSSIBILITY

A powerful storm system will cause strong to severe storms to develop across Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska on Monday afternoon. Those storms will likely continue overnight along a surging cold front across portions of the mid and lower Missouri valleys and perhaps into the Ozarks Plateau. All modes of severe weather are possible on Monday nt-Tuesday morning, however, the primary hazards look to be large hail and damaging winds at this time. Storms will be strongest across western Missouri and Arkansas and will have the tendency to weaken as they track eastward across the Ozarks during the late morning hours and early afternoon hours on Tuesday. Severe weather will still be a possibility though I think the concern will shift towards flash flooding. We could receive 1-2" of rain with locally higher amounts.

FIRE DANGER

Lately we've had some problems with wild fires in Missouri, especially across Laclede county. We are currently running 3" behind our yearly normal rainfall and anytime the humidity drops below 30% and winds are gusty there is an increased threat for fire danger. Fire risk tends to increase during early spring due to several factors shown in the diagram above. If you need to do any burning of debris it's a good idea to do it after we've received a soaking rain and to make sure you keep tabs on the weather to see if the conditions are good or poor for burning. It also doesn't hurt to contact your local fire department and ask if it is safe to burn. If you are a smoker, it's wise to make sure you put the cigarette out completely and to never just toss it outside because it can potentially start a fire on a dry and windy day.

Spring officially begins on Friday!

An Equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the Sun being vertically above a point on the Equator. Around the Equinox, the night and day are approximately equally long.

Severe Late Sunday-Monday

The Ozarks will be on the eastern edge of this thunderstorm area during this time. Jet stream winds and a return northward of some Gulf moisture will help to develop these storms.

Note that this whole pattern will likey shift east on Tuesday with a better chance for storms and rain for the Ozarks. There is a possibility for severe storms for us on this day as well.

Anniversary of the Tri-State Tornado

It is, by a wide margin, the deadliest tornado to strike the United States.

Starting in Reynolds County, Missouri, this tornado was on the ground for over three hours, killed close to 700 people, wiped several towns off the map and reached speeds over 60 mph.

Here are several links:

The Tornado Project

Paducah, KY National Weather Service

Google for more....

OUR NEXT COLD FRONT

WEDNESDAY EVENING TEMPERATURE/WIND FORECAST

CAN YOU LOCATE THE COLD FRONT?

WEDNESDAY EVENING DEWPOINTS, WHICH SHOWS SOME BUT NOT A TON OF MOISTURE AHEAD OF THE FRONT. TYPICALLY, YOU NEED READINGS IN THE UPPER 50S AND LOWER 60S FOR AN INCREASED CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S PRECIPITATION FORECAST.

IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR SEVERE WEATHER TO OCCUR.