My walk to work this morning was into a chilly east wind. In this part of the country, an east wind is generally damp and uncomfortable, especially in early spring; its presence is associated with a cold front to our south, high pressure to our north and low pressure along the Gulf Coast.
Clockwise winds around the high pressure combine with a counterclockwise flow around the low, producing an east wind; since the low is also injecting Gulf moisture into the air, it is a raw wind, triggering showers or flurries as it rakes the Heartland.
Relief from this menacing wind and its cargo of moisture will come as the high pressure moves east and the southern storm moves up the Atlantic Seaboard. In concert, a ridge of high pressure will arrive from the west and our wind will shift to a southwesterly flow, ushering in warmer and drier air. Just another dip and climb on the roller coaster of a Midwest spring.
