Thursday, April 17, 2014

Current Conditions:
Temperature: 40°F
Feels Like: 35°F
Wind: Northwest @ 8 mph
Humidity: 68%
Pressure: 1025.2 mb é

Overcast skies will are expected to hang around through the weekend, but cold temperatures are not! It's been a cool, breezy day in the Chippewa Valley today, with predominantly northwest winds affecting the area. A low deck of cumulus clouds have been hanging over the area, through it appears as though we should expect at least some clearing of skies heading into this evening. As we head into the Easter weekend, we should most likely look for some precipitation, as well as an increase in temperature. The jet is starting to straighten out again, allowing for warm air to push north and take some of the chill off of us.

The low pressure system that had the potential to bring storms to the area has moved eastward, into eastern Wisconsin. the storm is still active to the north of Lake Superior. A group of high pressure systems are working their way across the country from the west.

This Accuweather map shows the predicted weather for the weekend. Storms are expected to cover much of the central portion of the country, from eastern Texas to northern Minnesota. Temperatures are predicted to be mild though. 

This shows the outlook for Easter Sunday. As stated above, the belt of rain extends all the way up the central portion of the country. Other than that, some rain is expected in Florida. It looks like it should be a nice spring day for much of the rest of the country.

This shows the current path of the jet stream. As we can see, it is starting to flatten out, and should continue to flatten out through the weekend, allowing for a warming trend to begin again.

This shows the current surface conditions for the Midwest. Clouds cover much of Wisconsin, Michigan, and the Dakotas. Winds are sporadic in the southwestern Minnesota right now, as a bit of converging between the high and low pressure systems are leading to differing wind patterns. 

This sounding shows the current atmospheric conditions for Minneapolis, Minnesota. The LI and KI values both report stable conditions for the area.