Dangerous Heat in the Central and Southern U.S.; Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain in the Northern Plains

Dangerous, prolonged heat is expected across portions of the Central and Southeast U.S. through July. Scattered severe thunderstorms are expected over parts of the northern Plains into the upper Mississippi Valley Tuesday, with damaging winds and large hail as the primary threats. Heavy rainfall could lead to areas of flooding across the northern Plains, Upper Midwest, Southeast and Southwest. Read More >

March 2022 featured several ups and downs with temperatures, starting below average at the beginning of the month, then a mid-month spring tease, followed by more colder weather towards the end. The net result was below average temperatures across the region. Precipitation was a bit below or above average depending on location, and that was largely due to the variability of storms that passed through. A snowstorm that brought 12.8” to International Falls on the 22nd only brought 1.5” to Duluth, for example, and this placed International Falls above average for precipitation and Duluth below average. With a pretty active pattern especially during the end of the month, drought conditions improved with now only abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions across the region.

Looking ahead, the CPC forecasted above average precipitation chances for April with equal chances for above or below average temperatures (likely trending below average for the later part of the month per the 8-14 day outlook released on April 10). The three month outlooks suggest warmer temperatures and equal chances for above or below average precipitation. Our active weather pattern, which may continue for the near future, should result in continued drought improvement.