First two storms in April - no foolin'

Happy April Fool's Day!! I'm sure before this day is over, I'll get fooled into believing something. But no foolin' here, we have two storm systems to watch in the first week of April. This is one of our wetter months, with average rainfall listed below:

Wichita: 2.59"

Dodge City: 1.82"

Goodland: 1.59"

Salina: 3.05"

First Storm: This system will arrive into the western US around Monday. It's a fairly strong system but as it moves over the mountains and heads east, it will be weakening and becoming disorganized. It will help to strengthen the winds by Tuesday, just ahead of a cold front that is going to come through Tuesday night/early Wednesday. Gulf of Mexico moisture will be limited (at best), so the likelihood of measurable rainfall is quite low. Even if we end up with a chance for rain, it would only be in southeast Kansas. 

2nd Storm: This system will spend most of the week just west of Baja, California. Late in the week, this system will begin weakening as it pushes northeast. This will likely be slow to move, so it may not impact Kansas weather until April 9 or 10th at the earliest (if it even gets here at all) This will be a game changer though, as it brings our weather pattern (the jet stream) back to a southwest flow. We need our upper level winds to come from the southwest if we are going to have widespread rain chances. 

Bottom line: Don't expect much rain for the first 8-10 days of April. There are some indications that our 2nd full week of April will offer up more hope for moisture. Details to come!!