After a cold and snowy start to winter, April has made an early appearance in the American Midwest. Strong southerly winds, ahead of the next winter storm, have pumped mild, humid air into the Heartland, priming the region for thunderstorms, which rumbled through Missouri overnight and into this morning.
This brief spring interlude, sporting afternoon highs near 60F and morning lows near 50F, is already beginning to fade; blue skies to the northwest, so inviting from a distance, warn of cold air behind the front. As the storm moves off to the east, northerly winds will push this air into Central Missouri and winter will reclaim the State.
These weather oscillations usually settle down in January as the jet stream assumes a steady, more southern track, keeping us on the cold side of that atmospheric boundary. But the word "usually" is a relative term and North American weather patterns are notoriously fickle. We have reason to hope that April makes several more visits before it finally moves in next spring.
