The ice, snow and frigid temperatures of the past week are giving way to mild conditions as the jet stream returns to the Canadian border. Flowing west to east, this steering current will direct Pacific fronts across the lower forty-eight while keeping the arctic air to our north. Several of these fronts are expected over the next week, triggering snow in the western mountains and rain showers at the lower elevations of the Midwest and Southeast. With highs in the fifties and lows near freezing, most of our snowpack should disappear in the coming days.
This erratic weather is typical of the American Midwest and makes life more interesting. While I enjoy vacations to the Tropics and long to visit Alaska, I prefer living in the Temperate Zone where plants and animals (humans included) must adapt to an ever-changing climate.
