Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain Possible Across the Central U.S.; Additional Flash Flooding Potential in the Mid-Atlantic

Strong thunderstorms are forecast across parts of the Central Plains and Midwest today with damaging wind gusts, large hail, and heavy rainfall the primary threats. Heavy rain and scattered flash flooding is also possible across the Carolinas into Virginia. Elevated to critical fire weather concerns in the Four Corners region as Extreme Heat Warnings remain in effect across the Desert Southwest. Read More >

Spring 2023 ended up slightly below normal temperature-wise and with above normal snowfall and generally below normal precipitation overall. The averages don’t really capture the story very well, however, as there were several notable pattern changes throughout the spring. March was noticeably colder than normal with above normal precipitation, including snow. Then, a very pronounced warmup happened in April which melted most of the snowpack around the region and led to widespread areal flooding. Temperatures cooled down a bit for a couple weeks after that with more wintry systems passing through, bringing above average snowfall for April. Another stark pattern shift was observed in May with well below normal rainfall and warmer than normal temperatures. Plentiful moisture and flooding was pretty quickly replaced by dry weather and drought.