Busy storm day Thursday - more active days on the horizon

Thursday turned out to have almost as many tornadoes as any other day so far in 2022. One storm in particular, was in the right environment for it to rotate and produce tornadoes. In the image below, you'll see what the temperatures looked like at 3pm Thursday. You'll first notice the distinct temperature contrast from one side of a warm front to the next. Then take a look at the wind arrows. See how the arrows are pointing from southeast to northwest? That tells us the wind is from the southeast. And then look out into central and western Kansas - you'll see a different wind direction there. That shift in wind was key in getting the storm to rotate and produce occasional tornadoes. There's always some degree of concern when you have a warm front involved with severe weather - the shifting wind across the front makes it easier to get a tornado environment and we are lucky most of them were very brief. 

Here are some photos of the various funnels and tornadoes:

Allison Moore - Ellsworth/Lincoln county line

Monica Prewit - 2 miles east of Wilson

Safe to say we won't see this kind of setup again for a while. There's nothing in our near future that would produce scenes like we saw Thursday.

Saturday night/Sunday rainfall - This will mostly be for the southern half of Kansas. I don't think we are looking at a gully washer, but southwest Kansas might get the heaviest rain. Models continue to show in excess of 1" of rain, while farther east, it will likely be under 1".

Next week:

Mainly cool to start the week, but it will heat up gradually as the week continues.

More active weather for the 4th of July weekend:

We are seeing a potential pattern change again around the holiday weekend that may result in more rain chances for the Plains. It's early to pin down the setup, but a series of disturbances coming off the Rockies may set off some storms throughout the area. It may be two or three rounds of rain developing on the High Plains of Colorado and western Kansas and moving southeast. We will have to wait until we get a little closer. I DON'T think we will be as cool next weekend (for the holiday weekend) as what we are forecasting for this current weekend (June 25/26).

Five planets lining up for a show early Saturday and Sunday:

Not a popular thing to do on a weekend, but if you are up extra early, look for the 5 different planets lining up across the eastern sky. You'll have to get out at least 30 minutes prior to sun up (which is around 6:09AM) and binoculars can make the view better. Mercury will be quite low in the sky (but visible), and then you'll have Venus to its upper right. Just above the moon is Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Enjoy.