Blog Article
Daylight Saving Time and the Upcoming Severe Weather Threat
We just lost an hour to Daylight Saving Time, right as a severe weather threat targets the South and Midwest. Find out how this impacts your storm prep.
Alright folks, let's talk about the elephant in the room. We all lost an hour of sleep last night.
I know a lot of y'all were up late looking at your security cameras or scrolling social media trying to catch a glimpse of that viral fireball meteor over Louisiana. That footage is absolutely wild. But get this. You need to keep those cameras rolling and your phones fully charged, because the atmosphere is definitely not taking a break just to let us catch up on our sleep.
Springing forward always throws our internal clocks out of whack. We are groggy, we are tired, and we tend to let our guard down when the sun sets. Here is the thing though. We cannot afford to be complacent this week. That lost hour of warning time can make a huge difference as a new, multi-day severe weather setup moves across the country.
The "Lost Hour" Severe Threat
If you live in the Carolinas or southeast Virginia, you might see a few claps of thunder tonight with a Marginal risk of severe weather. But the real action starts on Monday.
We have a Slight Risk, which is a Level 2 out of 5, setting up across the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys tomorrow. I am talking to y'all in Little Rock, Jackson, and Monroe. A fast-moving atmospheric impulse is going to interact with some really humid air. The main things we are watching for are damaging winds and some very large hail. The data is showing the potential for hailstones up to 2 inches in diameter. There is also a 2 percent tornado risk in this zone. When you are feeling that Daylight Saving Time fatigue tomorrow evening, you still need to have your weather radio on.
Things escalate on Tuesday. The Storm Prediction Center has already outlined an Enhanced Risk, a Level 3 out of 5, for northeast Missouri, southeast Iowa, and central to northern Illinois. If you are in Springfield or Peoria, you need to be paying close attention. A robust system is going to pull in Gulf moisture and kick up all severe hazards. We will be tracking this closely as the high-resolution models get a better look at it.
The Sky is on Fire (Literally)
While the eastern half of the country is dealing with humidity and storms, the plains are turning into an absolute tinderbox.
We have Critical Fire Weather areas outlined for Monday. This isn't just the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles anymore. The threat is expanding significantly into eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska. We are looking at sustained westerly winds over 20 mph and relative humidity levels tanking down to the 15 to 20 percent range.
When you combine those winds with the fact that we have not had any meaningful rain out there lately, any spark is going to spread incredibly fast. Please do not burn anything outdoors if you live in these areas.
Wait, Snow in Seattle?
I told y'all this weather pattern was doing a little bit of everything. Up in the Pacific Northwest, a cold and unstable upper trough is directing a whole lot of moisture onshore.
But here is the crazy part. The temperatures aloft are dropping so fast that snow levels are going to plummet. By Tuesday morning, we are talking about snow levels dropping down to 250 to 500 feet in Washington. We could actually see 1 to 3 inches of slushy, wet snow accumulation in the Puget Sound foothills and interior valleys. It is a highly unusual lowland snow event for March, so be ready for a messy Tuesday morning commute out there.
The Bottom Line
I know your microwave clock might still be blinking the wrong time. I know you are probably running on coffee right now. But please double-check your alert settings tonight.
Whether it is the severe storms in the South and Midwest, the fire danger in the Plains, or the surprise snow in the Northwest, this is an active week. Give yourself some grace if you are feeling groggy, but do not sleep on these alerts. Have a way to get warnings that will physically wake you up.
Stay safe out there, and keep your eyes on the skies.
https://ryanhallyall.com/blog/that-lost-hour-of-sleep-matters-navigating-this-weeks-severe-threat