Just as we entered February and began to witness signs of spring, another dome of Arctic air has dropped into the Midwest. It was 10 degrees F this morning in Columbia, Missouri, and, despite the brilliant sunshine, the air is not much warmer at mid-day.
Fortunately, this polar invasion will be brief and a warm front will push up for the Southwest in the coming days. Such is the historic pattern through mid March as winter's retreat is haphazard at best. An unsettled jet stream, typical of spring, ushers in the alternating periods of cold and warm air.
It will be interesting to see how climate change will affect this pattern. From what we have seen to date, we should probably expect more potent atmospheric gyrations, triggering heavy spring snow, strong Nor'Easters, tragic ice storms and severe, tornadic thunderstorms. For now, we'll just wait out the Arctic incursion, enjoying the bright sunshine and crystal-clear air; spring will take hold soon enough.
