National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Severe Weather Threat Shifted to the Southern Plains and Mid-South; Critical Fire Weather in the Southern Plains

Multiple rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms may produce very large hail, swaths of damaging wind, a few tornadoes and heavy rain across parts of Texas into the lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys. Gusty winds and dry conditions will continue to promote elevated to critical fire weather conditions across the southern High Plains. Read More >

It was a very wet start to 2023 across the area with record rainfall for many over the first 3 months. It quickly dried out after that, leading to severe drought across portions of the region. Temperatures were also quite mild to kick off 2023, would wobble around the normals into the start of the summer, then settled in to warm conditions for the rest of the year. So warm that 2023 for both La Crosse and Rochester were in their top 5 warmest on record. 

More details on 2023 climate below: