Summery Feel Gives Way Back to Spring

April has begun on a warm note for much of the Eastern U.S. Since April 1^st, nearly 800 new record high temperatures have been set. For a complete list you can visit the National Climatic Data Center's Website. A change is coming and is already cooling it off to a return to Spring, across the Plains. Temperatures behind a frontal system have dropped into the 40s and 30s across Nebraska and South Dakota, as of midday Tuesday. In addition, some snow was falling in northwest Nebraska westward into Wyoming. This storm system will be heading eastward through midweek. The warmth will remain ahead of the system with more 80s and even a few 90s from the Southeast into the Mid-Atlantic.

As the cooler air heads eastward and mixes with the warmer and more humid air, thunderstorms will fire. They will first start across eastern Kansas/western Missouri southward to the Red River late Tuesday afternoon through evening. Overnight and into Wednesday, they will spread to the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River. They will continue eastward moving through Wednesday night and into Thursday, reaching the Appalachians by midday Thursday.

Some of the storms will be severe. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a "Slight Risk" for severe storms through 7 AM Wednesday from southwest Michigan through the Chicagoland area and much of western Missouri into the Red River Valley of Texas/Oklahoma.

The Day 2 risk area, 7 AM Wednesday through 7 AM Thursday, moves into the Ohio Valley southwestward through the Mid-South and Tennessee Valley and Lower Mississippi Valley.

Behind the front, temperatures will be about 20 degrees cooler for a couple of days before the warm-up begins again.