ORLANDO, Fla. – Don’t let the splash of cold temps coming toward us early next week distract you from the fact Mother Nature is doing her best to bring spring in full-force.
A sign of what’s ahead lies in the upcoming severe weather event slated for areas of the Lower Great Lakes and Mid Western states.
We don’t typically see this area light up for the potential of strong storms let alone tornadoes until we start to roll into the spring severe weather season. I fully believe this is the preliminary bouts before the full early tornado season gets underway.
Currently, a level two out of five risk for severe storms blankets an area of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio with a surrounding level one risk.
Hail and a risk for tornadoes are the primary threats here, especially as wind flow both down towards the ground and high up in our atmosphere start cranking out of the south/southwest.
While not the most impressive set up, this may only be round one of many for March and April.
What is impressive is the domino effect our first area of low pressure will start, leading into Monday and Tuesday of next week.
What will generate severe thunderstorms well to our north will also begin yanking colder, Canadian air down into the U.S. resulting in a dip in our jet stream.
That dip will then go on to spin up another low pressure, which will instigate the cooldown we’re preparing for in Central Florida.
This is precisely why, while it looks like the true heart of winter has come to a close, we’ll still feel occasional bursts of cold temps before an immediate rebound into spring temperatures.
Computer models are already identifying additional upcoming systems we’ll need to start monitoring for both here at home and friends in high places as warmth tries to take charge over the east despite continuous pulses of cooler air from Canada.
That constant clashing is what leads to severe weather season ramping up now and through to late April. The summertime acts as a cap, because by then, well - it’s hot just about everywhere.