Mother Nature - Shake it up will ya?

Is it me - or is this weather pattern just becoming too stagnant?

California keeps getting pounded, the northern tier can't lose winter, we're burning up here in the Front Range of the Rockies.....LITERALLY!!   Dozens of fires this month so far - several in the immediate 7-county Denver area.

The south is seeing all the severe weather - what little there has been - and that isn't a bad thing - unless you are a storm chaser.  Although - California has seen some rare storms with a few tornadoes too!

Come on Mother Nature - shake things up a bit - spread the love! 

Ok I have ranted.....can you tell we are starving for a little weather east of the Continental Divide here in Colorado!!!

This is not a typical post for me....so let's get off the rant and on to some weather.

If you live in the northeast and like a good spring snow....you may just get your wish later this week! There is a lot of uncertainty in the forecast....but if things come together....they could see a 6 inch+ snow along the I-95 megalopolis!

Here is a map of the potential weather hazards facing the U.S. over the next week. It includes several pockets of heavy precipitation around the nation, strong storms over Florida, high winds in southeast Alaska and continued drought conditions over the southern and central Rockies.

Wild spring weather strikes much of nation

Everything was on the maps Tuesday - from tornadoes in Iowa to a late season winter storm dropping snow that was blown about on strong, gusty winds from Montana to New York.

Across Colorado, it was fire and ice - literally!

A huge wildfire just a few miles west of Golden had consumed over 1,200 acres at last check.

Just 30 to 40 miles due west of the fire snow was falling along and west of the Continental Divide - keeping the ski season alive!

Temps near 90 degrees covered Florida while widespread 80s were found across the deep south.

Another wicked storm was slamming the Pacific Coast. In the past few days, everything from heavy mountain snow to flooding and even a few tornadoes have been reported in California.

Spring just around the corner

Well if you have been waiting for spring - it's finally here!    Arriving late Sunday afternoon.

It was a long winter full of records for many locations - with numerous snow and cold events from Seattle to Tulsa and Atlanta.

Blizzard hits northern plains

Old man winter is making for a miserable weekend across the northern plains states.

Grand Forks has been reporting sustained winds in the 30-40 mph range with gusts close to 60 mph for the past several hours.

In addition to the wind, the city is reporting blowing snow with temps in the single digits. All I can say is BRRR!

Several roads are closed in the region, including Interstate 29 from the South Dakota border north to the border with Canada.

Meanwhile, it was an amazing day in the Denver area on Friday with a high of 71 degrees!

Killer tornado strikes Louisiana

Severe thunderstorms developed along the central Gulf Coast states on Saturday producing widespread wind, hail and heavy rain.

A few tornadoes were also reported - unfortunately - one was a killer.

The estimated tornado rating is at least an EF-2 and it was on the ground several miles, crossing Interstate 10 and hitting the small town of Rayne.

The twister damaged dozens of homes and killed a 21-year-old woman when a tree fell through her house.

Click here to visit the National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Active days ahead

The weather pattern is about to turn stormy for much of the nation as a series of storm systems move along the jet stream.

Hazards include heavy snow in the mountains and over portions of the high plains states early next week. As well as heavy rain in the Ohio Rivey Valley and eventually over the northeast.

A severe weather outbreak is possible by the middle of next week over the middle of the country.

I know this map is busy - but it just shows how crazy the next few days will be!

Unusually cold and severe weather

Check out these temps - a very unusual air mass for this time of year. The weather pattern is responsible for blanketing Seattle with snow!

We'll see more snow today - even in low elevations that rarely see snow - such as potentially in and around San Francisco!

Meanwhile - the first severe weather outbreak of the year resulted in at least a half-dozen reported tornadoes and a lot of wind and hail reports in the south on Thursday. The good news - despite a lot of damage reported across Tennessee - and some injuries - there have been no deaths as of last check.

Severe storms likely today in lower Mississippi River Valley

Check out this map today - we have a pretty decent chance for the first severe weather outbreak of the season in portions of the south.

Active weather week ahead

Weather will be in the headlines this week as a very active jet stream pattern will be in place.

The result will be a lot of windy conditions around the country.

As we move toward the weekend a large area of pretty cold air will move into the nation. It will bring snow and wintry weather to the northern states while the south will likely see their first severe weather outbreak of 2011.

We're potentially looking at a setup for severe storms forming in eastern Oklahoma and Texas late Wednesday and moving east throughout the day on Thursday.

The area outlined in red will have the best chance to experience severe weather - including large hail and isolated tornadoes.

Busy at Noaa's Storms Prediction Center

This is so exciting - and a sign of the time of year we are entering - meaning the annual battle of the air masses which leads to severe weather season.

The Storms Prediction Center in Norman, OK is monitoring northern Nebraska for intense winter precipitation (in blue) and southern Nebraska/northern Kansas for a few stray severe thunderstorms (in red).

We had some storms earlier move across eastern Colorado with a little rain in Denver - something we don't see much of in February.  Typically it's snow in these parts until March!

Winter storm moving across nation

A large and unsettled weather pattern is changing the weather across much of the nation this weekend.

In the west, a powerful winter storm is slamming the west coast with heavy rain and mountain snow. That snow is spreading into the Rockies.

Meanwhile, a blast of cold Canadian air is settling across the northern tier of the nation with winter storm and blizzard conditions from eastern Wyoming and Montana all the way to the Great Lakes states.

As we head into the last of February and the first of March - and the cold air moves south - it could trigger the first severe weather outbreak of the season in the southern states.

Pattern change ahead

Well after a rather mild and quiet stretch of weather for much of the nation - things will become more active as we round out the month of February.

The jet stream will transport a series of storm systems across the lower 48 states over the next week.  There will be some cold air associated with this change and a return to more winter like conditions for many.

We may even see some thunderstorm activity in the southern plains states later next week as the cold and warm air masses collide.

Look at how much snow has melted over the past week across the nation.  Below is the current map as of today (Friday 2/18) and if you scroll down you can see the maps from recent days.

US snow cover quickly melting

A warm air mass in place this past weekend and into the new week is helping to rapidly melt the U.S. snow pack. Check out the map below from February 11.  Then scroll down to see the snow pack from February 14.

US snow cover shrinks under high pressure

Look at this map of the US snow cover. 

Now scroll down and look at it just a few days ago.

It melts quick this time of year.  The sun angle is much higher than it was earlier in the winter. Also - a large ridge of high pressure has built into the center of the country allowing temperatures to finally warm up to seasonal - and in many cases - above seasonal levels.

I can't wait to post the map later this coming week - I bet most of the southern states will be clear of snow - and the depth across the nothern tier of states will be a little less pink and more in the darker blues.

Quiet, windy weather prevails for most

Mother Nature has decided to reward most of the country with a MUCH NEEDED break from the long stretch of wintry weather.

The reason behind this is the upper-level wind pattern (or the jet stream).

In the map below - you can see what the pattern will be like for the next 3 to 5 days.  A large ridge of high pressure means quiet weather for the center of the country with dry and mild conditions.

However - it will be windy for locations along and under the flow of winds. So we are talking all the locations in yellow and orange - as well as the reds and pinks.




Unsettled weather can be expected across the Pacific Northwest states and across the northeast states - where the jet streams dips.  These dips are caused by areas of low pressure.

The ridge in the middle is caused by high pressure - and that translates into pretty decent weather!