Weather Pattern Becoming More Active Next Week

In the Midwest, it was relatively quiet for most of the week, though a front started to bring some showers into the region on Wednesday night. That front will produce more widespread showers and thunderstorms on Thursday, which will push south on Friday. The pattern will be more active with several systems moving through next week.

In the Northern Plains, some showers went through this week, but it was fairly dry until a front started to move through on Thursday. Even then, showers developed in small strings. Soil moisture has been holding steady except in the south where drought has been growing. The weather pattern will favor multiple shots of scattered showers next week and for early April, which should be somewhat beneficial, but may include some snow.

In the Central and Southern Plains, it was dry this week and drought has been increasing rapidly with the extremely warm temperatures. A front will move through on Thursday and Friday but will produce very few showers. The weather pattern will become more active next week with multiple rounds of scattered showers, but there is no guarantee of them being widespread or heavy enough to reverse the current trend toward building drought.

In the Delta, it was dry this week and drought continued to grow in the region. A front will move through on Thursday night and Friday, but showers are expected to be isolated. The pattern will become more active next week, but showers may not reach the Delta until midweek. The region needs these showers to be heavy to reverse the drier trend, but deficits are very large in the region.

In the Southeast U.S., it was largely dry this week as drought continued to expand. A front will move through on Friday, but is expected to be dry. Some isolated showers may develop next week, but the heavier rain is forecast to occur far to the west and north. The region may get lucky if a front from one of the systems moving through is able to make it in, but would most likely be late next week, leading to more drought growth in the region.

In the Western U.S., a few showers fell across the far north this week, but occurred mostly in the mountains. Recent dryness has favored drought growth in many areas. The weather pattern will become a little more active next week as systems start to move through more of the region. However, they are not expected to carry much precipitation, especially for southern areas.

John Baranick can be reached at john.baranick@dtn.com