What We're Watching for the First Full Week of April

Norfolk Closes Floodgates Ahead Of Nor'easter

The first full week of April will be wet and stormy for the East and Southwest while the nation's heartland turns up the heat.

Here are a few things we're watching in the week ahead.

Storms Return in the Nation's Eastern Half

A quick-moving weather system will sweep through the Great Lakes as a high-pressure system builds over the western Atlantic.

This system will bring showers and thunderstorms to parts of the Midwest early week as it tracks eastward. Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible in the Ohio Valley on Tuesday.

For the South, the high-pressure system will push winds from the Gulf of Mexico into the Deep South, allowing showers and storms to blossom from Texas to Florida. Small disturbances in the jet stream should also allow for bursts of moisture to sweep eastward from Mexico.

By midweek, rain is possible in parts of the Northeast as the low-pressure system moves into eastern Canada or the Northeast. Some snow is also possible in northern New England.

The South should remain intermittently wet as the subtropical jet stream remains overhead, but flood concerns are expected to be low.

April Miracle in California?

Another low-pressure system is beginning to drift southward along the West Coast.

This system should be rather slow moving, exiting the Southwest by late week.

While longer periods of rain and snowfall might seem unwanted, more than a quarter of the West is in at least a moderate drought, and reservoir levels in California are slowly dropping.

The recent wet pattern is good news for fire weather concerns going into the dry season in California, so more precipitation is a welcomed sight.

Multiple feet of snow could fall in the Sierra from this system, and snow is also possible in the southern Cascades and the mountains of Southern California by midweek. Some lighter snow and rain is possible in the Four Corners, especially in Colorado, by late in the week as the system departs the West.

Strong winds are also possible and gusts over 40 mph could develop in foothill and mountain locations of California. A few strong thunderstorms also cannot be ruled out over the Central Valley region.

Temperature Changes Ahead

Upper-level high pressure over the South will bring a warm-up across the nation's midsection.

Highs in the 80s could occur as far north as Omaha and the Quad Cities by midweek, which would be some 15 to 25 degrees above average in the Corn Belt. With high pressure not being directly overhead and generally showery weather anticipated, few record highs are expected. Only a few spots along the Gulf Coast will reach into the 90s.

The warmth paired with the cloudy and showery weather could, however, spawn dozens of overnight warm record lows. Wednesday morning's lows are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees warmer than average, meaning some spots in the South might not dip below 65 degrees.

Communities south of Interstate 10 could be stuck above 70 degrees overnight, which is more typical of June than early April.

However, temperature changes are ahead late week.

A cold front will move through the central and eastern U.S. late week and will put an end to the abnormally warm temperatures.

Below-average temperatures may develop for much of the U.S. heading into Easter weekend. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center highlights parts of the Plains, Midwest and Northeast as having at least a 50% chance of cooler-than-average conditions heading into mid-April.

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