Somebody, Please Turn Down The Wind!

Well if you live in the center of the country and it isn't windy where you are  - just wait - it's coming.

A new storm system is moving into the western US today and it has a tight pressure gradient associated with it.

Below is a surface map showing the storm as it moves over the Rockies during the next 36 hours. Out ahead of it, I drew some rust colored arrows showing the southwesterly winds.

These winds will bring some very warm weather to the middle of the nation - wth highs near 80 degrees from Minneapolis south to eastern Colorado.

Let me just tell you - these winds are gusting to around 50 mph here in the Denver area. In fact, last hour, a 46 mph gust was reported at Centennial Airport, just a few miles from my house.

As we head into the upcoming weekend - this storm system will bring the chance for severe thunderstorms from Wisconsin and Minnesota to the Gulf Coast. By Saturday, we could see a severe weather outbreak in the lower Mississippi River Valley.