Driving back to Missouri from Ohio yesterday, we enjoyed sunny, mild weather until we reached the Mississippi Valley. There, a squall line stretched across Metro St. Louis and we crawled through torrential rain until we were west of the city.
From St. Louis to Columbia, we dodged intermittent showers and thunderstorms and that weather has persisted since our arrival in central Missouri. The cause for these unsettled conditions can be found on the weather map were two stationary fronts run parallel across the Midwest. North of the northern front, sunshine and relatively cool, dry air is in place while, south of the southern front, the air is hot and humid. The swath between the fronts is a clash zone where cooler air undercuts the tropical air to the south, igniting thunderstorms and unleashing heavy rain. A flash flood watch currently stretches through that swath, from eastern Kansas and Oklahoma to the Upper Ohio Valley.
The cloud cover and rain have kept temperatures cooler than average for late July, a welcome change from the hot summer weather. Devoid of potent energy and wind sheer from the jet stream, severe thunderstorms are unlikely and flooding is the only concern unless or until a powerful system moves in from the west, dislodging the stationary fronts.
From St. Louis to Columbia, we dodged intermittent showers and thunderstorms and that weather has persisted since our arrival in central Missouri. The cause for these unsettled conditions can be found on the weather map were two stationary fronts run parallel across the Midwest. North of the northern front, sunshine and relatively cool, dry air is in place while, south of the southern front, the air is hot and humid. The swath between the fronts is a clash zone where cooler air undercuts the tropical air to the south, igniting thunderstorms and unleashing heavy rain. A flash flood watch currently stretches through that swath, from eastern Kansas and Oklahoma to the Upper Ohio Valley.
The cloud cover and rain have kept temperatures cooler than average for late July, a welcome change from the hot summer weather. Devoid of potent energy and wind sheer from the jet stream, severe thunderstorms are unlikely and flooding is the only concern unless or until a powerful system moves in from the west, dislodging the stationary fronts.
