An atmospheric trough dips through the Great Plains and Midwest today, bringing wintry temperatures as far south as North Texas. Afternoon highs in the twenties (F) stretch across Montana, North Dakota and northern Minnesota while pockets of snow are scattered through the region, especially in southern Minnesota and Iowa.
Here in central Missouri, our temperature stands at 43 degrees F under cloudy skies, the coldest day of the season so far. Just beyond the reach of the trough the warmth of mid-October persists and it will return to much of the Midwest as the dip in the jet stream moves off to the east.
This early taste of winter may or may not signal a long or especially severe season. What it will likely do in the meantime is hasten waterfowl migration through the Heartland as ponds and wetlands begin to freeze up north. After a sluggish start, that development would be welcome indeed.
