Severe weather is possible 4/4, 4/5 and 4/6 in MO, IL, IA and WI

[KPKicker]

Hi Folks and a Happy Easter to you,

For those of you who don't know me, I'm a meteorologist. I spent many years on TV, but now work mostly in radio. I do weather for radio stations around the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes region and the northern Plains.

So, with it being a holiday weekend....I thought I would give y'all a little heads up.

Most of Missouri and far western Illinois are under the gun for severe thunderstorms this afternoon and tonight (4/4). Large hail, damaging winds and even a few tornadoes are all possible by late this afternoon. The chance for severe weather would continue into tonight as well.

Tomorrow (4/5), the focus turns to much of Iowa, the northwestern quarter of Illinois and far southwestern Wisconsin. The severe weather should hold off until late Monday night and then the chances will continue through the overnight hours to just before sunrise on Tuesday. The main threat here would be large hail. Heavy rainfall is also a possibility.

If you have travel plans, and I know many of you do with today being Easter, stay on top of the latest forecasts if your travels take you into these areas.

I will post updates here as conditions warrant and as time allows.

 

[KPKicker]

Severe weather is still possible across Missouri and Illinois this afternoon tonight. However, now the chances for severe thunderstorms extend a little further northeast. The Chicago and Milwaukee areas need to keep an eye on this scenario as well.

However, the best chance for severe weather will be across northern Missouri and central Illinois. In fact, thunderstorms are already popping up in these areas but no severe weather watch is expected to be issued at this time. Widespread severe weather will likely hold off until late this afternoon or this evening.

 

[Dooner]

This is not for my area, but this is a GREAT service your doing THANKS.

 

[Scottbee]

Was looking out my window and saw a house fly by with what appears to be a young girl and her dog inside.

Please advise.....

 

[KPKicker]

Was looking out my window and saw a house fly by with what appears to be a young girl and her dog inside.

Please advise.....

If the neither the dog or the girl has a valid pilot's license, please call the FAA.

By the way, did you get the tail number on the house?

 

[KPKicker]

This is not for my area, but this is a GREAT service your doing THANKS.

You're very welcome. On one of the other boards I was on, I did the same thing and people seemed to really appreciate it.

 

[KPKicker]

Here's a quick updated....

As of about an hour ago (2:25pm Central Time) the Storm Prediction Center (an arm of the National Weather Service) said they were monitoring northern Missouri for a possible watch. No thunderstorms have fired in this area at this time, but they could pop anytime between now and 6:00pm Central.

This would affect areas like St. Joseph, Kansas City, Chillicothe, Kirksville, Hannibal and Jefferson City. St. Louis is just outside of the area of concern, but folks in that area should still keep an eye on things.

More later...

 

[KPKicker]

And we now have a Tornado Watch. It is in effect until 11:00pm CDT. It covers almost all of northern Missouri, a small part of southeastern Iowa and a small part of northwestern and west-central Illinois.

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 45
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
335 PM CDT SUN APR 4 2010

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

SOUTHEAST IOWA
WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS
EXTREME EASTERN KANSAS
CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MISSOURI

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 335 PM UNTIL
1100 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 70 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES NORTH OF PEORIA
ILLINOIS TO 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF OLATHE KANSAS. FOR A COMPLETE
DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY RAPIDLY THIS
AFTERNOON ALONG A WEAK FRONTAL ZONE EXTENDING FROM NORTHEAST
KS...ACROSS NORTHERN MO...INTO WESTERN IL. RAPID RETURN OF LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE AND STRONG HEATING SOUTH OF THE FRONT WILL
DESTABILIZE REGION...WHILE STRONG SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL WINDS ENHANCE
VERTICAL SHEAR. SUPERCELLS ARE EXPECTED EARLY WITH A RISK OF LARGE
HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. DURING THEN EVENING...ACTIVITY WILL
LIKELY CONGEAL INTO A SQUALL LINE AND TRACK EASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN
IL WITH A RISK OF HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

 

[thelook]

Gawd, I am such a weather junkie! Great idea for a thread here!

It looks to me like we are in for a bumpy spring, what do you think?
Also looks like hurricane season might be a wild one.....

 

[KPKicker]

Gawd, I am such a weather junkie! Great idea for a thread here!

It looks to me like we are in for a bumpy spring, what do you think?
Also looks like hurricane season might be a wild one.....

Hiya!

I see you are in Madison. One of the stations I do weather for is in Madison, WNWC-AM/FM.

Yeah, until we can make a more solid transition into spring, these blasts of warm air are going to mix it up with the cold air that doesn't want to let go. Toss in a little upper level support in the way of strong winds in the lower and mid levels of the atmosphere, and you've got yourself a severe weather outbreak.

So, I am thinking you're right. It could be kind of a wet spring...and possibly a rather loud one for the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Region.

As far as the hurricane season goes, it's a little to early to tell. At least, for me anyway. Tropical weather is not my strong suit. I've lived in Minnesota, Iowa or Wisconsin my entire life and never had to forecast weather on a daily basis any further south than Kansas City.