Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Current Conditions
Temperature: 58°F
Feels Like: 58°F
Wind: Southeast @ 16 mph
Humidity: 39%
Pressure: 1016.2 mb ê

We are in for another nice, spring day in the Chippewa Valley, but should start to look out for oncoming storms. Today has been a mild, spring day in the area, with breezy conditions and increasing cloud cover. Highs are predicted to reach into the mid 60's today, with the chance for thunderstorms to kick off this evening and extend through the work week. Thursday is still predicted to be the day with the highest temperatures and, because of the increased temperatures, it also has the highest chance for thunderstorms. This increased chance in thunderstorms is aided by the temperatures because the increased humidity that is available in warmer temperatures helps to fuel the storms.

This map shows the current pressure and frontal systems over the country. A large portion of the country is being affected by the high and low pressure systems in the west, where the stationary front is sitting over the Rockies. To the east a large warm front extends, that is projected to be fully affecting us by Thursday.

This Accuweather map shows the areas predicted to be affected by severe storms this Thursday. This storm as the potential to bring large hail and damaging winds, and Eau Claire is within the predicted area of concern.

This map shows the current jet stream patterns over the country. Currently, the subtropical jet has a bit of an upward bend, which is allowing the warm from to start pushing north and is pushing the subpolar jet northward as well.

This map shows the current surface conditions for the Midwest region. Much of the region is clear, with a few stations reporting partial cloud cover. The northwest is the most cloudy area, with precipitation and haze being reported by a number of different stations. Most of the winds for the area are coming out of the east. This wind direction would make sense, as we are supposed to be getting some larger thunderstorms as the week progresses.

This sounding shows the current atmospheric conditions for Minneapolis, Minnesota. Currently, conditions are rather stable, with little chance for much activity. The cloud deck is at around 793 mb, so a higher level of cloud cover is present.