SPRING IS ALIVE! 60S AND POSSIBLE STORMS...

A lot of us got our first 60° day under our belts on Sunday and more 60s will come this week. Here's a look at the temperatures across the country Sunday afternoon:

Davenport, Moline, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City all got into the 60s for the first time this year on Sunday (it was also the first 50 degree day for a lot of us!). Snow has been melting away and the birds are chirping!

The warmth will continue for the next several days. Monday's highs:

Tuesday:

Then comes Wednesday when we'll have the chance for showers and possibly even thunderstorms... here's an animation of the European model showing the storm moving through Wednesday into Thursday:

Here's a look at the CAPE (instability) for late Wednesday, showing sufficient numbers for maybe isolated thunderstorms:

There are still some differences in the models about how much rain falls and where during this time, though there is some more agreement about heavy rain around portions of Illinois and Missouri.

Here's a look at the Euro:

GFS:

Still some differences on how much, and we'll have to sort that out and keep an eye on river levels as well.

Now... it seems like spring is in full spring, but we proceed with caution this time of year. Winter can still come back through March and April. Terry mentioned a few days ago signs of cooler air coming back in for the second half of March and take a look at the outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 13-17:

Spring is alive for now, but always keep one eye open for Old Man Winter to come back!

RK

LIMITED COPIES LEFT:

I will take this opportunity to mention that Terry has under 30 copies left of his book on the most expensive thunderstorm in United States history (11 billion dollars in estimated damage). This will be the final printing. If you are interested in having the most authoritative account of this extreme event I would suggest you act now. Don't miss this opportunity to own the weather story of a generation. You can order yours at derechobook.com

BOOK ENDORSEMENT.

*This book has been quite the talk with the Iowa State Library promoting it. I have never seen the State Library promote any books like this unless it was an award winner of particular interest to libraries. Hopefully your sales are through the roof!

Jolene Kronschnabel-Director of Hawkins Memorial Library, La Porte City, Iow