The recent siege of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flooding rain in parts of the Midwest and South will end soon as a drier, less volatile weather pattern settles in during the first full week of April.
A Frenetic Stretch
Since Saturday March 29, there have been over 1,600 reports of severe weather in the nation, primarily in a zone from the Midwest and Ohio Valley to the Mississippi Valley and Plains. That included 44 confirmed tornadoes from March 30-31 and a still yet-to-be- determined number of twisters since April 1.
Then there’s the flooding. The National Weather Service is forecasting major river flooding in over 40 locations and moderate flooding in over 110 other locations from Arkansas to the Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
(MORE: Latest Flood, Severe Threats Forecast)
Severe Thunderstorm Reports Since March 29
When It Will End
While river flooding will continue in some larger rivers into the week ahead, by later Sunday, the rain and severe threat should have moved out of the storm-fatigued Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
Several days of dry weather should then settle in.
Any Concerns Later In The Week?
We do expect some rain to return to the forecast around the middle of the week, lasting into Thursday or Friday, in the Midwest and parts of the South.
But these will likely be in the form of scattered showers and thunderstorms. There will be much less moisture available and they’ll generally sweep through in a day or so, rather than the repeated rounds of heavy rain we’re seeing now.
Also, while some of these t-storms later in the week ahead could produce hail and strong wind gusts, the jet stream setup will not be conducive to the widespread outbreaks of severe weather and tornadoes we’ve seen recently.
(MAPS: Daily Rain, Snow Forecasts)
Snow, Rain Outlook Tuesday – Friday
Since it is still April, this quieter pattern may not last long. But at least it allows the storm-fatigued areas a well-deserved break.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.