Active weather continues & we are nearing the end of something important!

More busy weather ahead with the snow that will come through Wednesday-early Thursday. Widespread snow that will be accompanied by some wind. It's not necessarily the biggest winter storm of the season, but the areas that have already had some heavy snow this year will see it again Wednesday and into the night. 

It's not going to be around for very long (likely less than 15 hours), so by Thursday morning, the center of the system will be in Missouri and snow will shut down quickly. 

The coldest of the winter is behind us, but there's still quite a bit of cold air yet to come. A quick blast hits later this week, but it moves on after just about 24-36 hours. It's not a lengthy stretch of bitter cold. However, another round of cold air is lining up and ready to move this way next week. Longer range data continues to hint at more active weather even into next week. It may not be a big winter storm, but there are signs of more rain and snow chances for the area by midweek (Feb. 22-23). And it too may be followed by some colder weather. 

La Niña Update:

Look at the two maps below. The first map is from Jan. 5th and you'll see the darker shades of blue along the equator represent colder than average water temperatures. In the map right below it, which is the most current image, you'll notice less blue along the equator, indicating a warming of the water. La Nina is almost dead. It's been ongoing for three years, and finally, we are nearing the end of what most would blame for the ongoing drought that isn't improving on any widespread scale. The temperature is about -.5°C below average, which barely gives it the La Nina status. Expectations are that warming of the water will continue into spring. 

It is worth noting that just because La Nina is nearly dead doesn't mean the rain will suddenly follow. However, there is reason to hope that some different weather - perhaps more rain - will be coming soon. Long term patterns take time to shift around, but if we move toward an El Nino later this fall, that usually does bring an end to widespread drought. It just may take many more months to get there.

Thanks for stopping by here for a few minutes.