Today will be a fairly nice day around the Pacific Northwest as a temporary ridge of high pressure hovers overhead. So get out and enjoy the day, as tomorrow late winter/early spring weather returns as a large low pressure system engulfs the West Coast.
Rain and blustery conditions will move inland later on Monday and keep showers going for a couple of days afterward. Yes, plenty of April showers yet to come our way.
Nationally, the spring weather scene has been relatively calm until a couple of days ago, when at least 32 tornadoes were reported Friday in the U.S. That is close to the monthly total of 36 for March. The severe weather continued Saturday with 10 dead alone in Mississippi and will most likely today as well in the Southeast U.S. According to the National Storm Prediction Center, March had the fourth-lowest number of tornadoes since record keeping began in 1950.
The slow start to the severe weather season in the Midwest was due to colder temperatures in the southern tier of states and Gulf of Mexico to warmer-than-average temperatures in Canada. The formula for severe weather is for cool and dry air from Canada sweeping down into the U.S. mixing with warm and humid air from the south. However, it appears tornado alley is beginning to awaken.
