6:22 PM Sunday, March 30, 2025
A strong spring storm is affecting many areas today, bringing snow and ice in the colder air north of the low, which was over western lower Michigan late this afternoon, while in the warmer air south and east of the low, there’s a risk for severe thunderstorms.
MRMS radar loop ending 4:28 PM CT Sunday, March 30, 2025.
Numerous tornado and severe thunderstorm watches are in effect into this evening, stretching from southern Lower Michigan to northeast Texas, and this threat for severe storms will shift farther south/east during the night.
Widespread power outages have occurred today due to significant amounts of ice in northeast Wisconsin, northern Lower Michigan, and in parts of upper Michigan.
Further south in southwest Lower Michigan and northern Indiana, power outages are occurring due to severe thunderstorms producing damaging winds this afternoon.
On Monday, the potential for severe thunderstorms will shift to the eastern and southeastern U.S., with an enhanced risk (orange) and slight risk (yellow) for severe thunderstorms. Damaging winds and a few tornadoes are the main threats, with some hail also possible.
Midweek Storm Threat
Another significant system is expected mid-week, resembling the previous ones with snow, wind, and some ice on one side of the low-pressure system, while severe thunderstorms are possible on the other side.
There are the usual uncertainties in the computer models about the low’s path today, with a general agreement on either the yellow or orange tracks on the map below. The purple track is currently the least likely, although some Euro ensemble models do suggest it could follow that path.
Timing-wise: Snow would spread north across the Northland Tuesday evening and overnight, with snow continuing into Wednesday night, although it would taper off from southwest to northeast during the night. Snow may change or mix with rain, sleet, or freezing rain in parts of northwest Wisconsin, possibly as far west as eastern Minnesota and the Twin Ports area Wednesday afternoon. A dry slot could also move over parts of northwest Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota Wednesday afternoon. There is also a chance for a few thunderstorms especially on Wednesday. Winds would be strongest near Lake Superior where another gale is possible with northeast winds gusting as high as 45 mph on Wednesday.
Stay tuned for updates.
Looking at temperatures aloft (850 mb level of the atmosphere) reveals a warm nose over southern Minnesota on Wednesday, which will likely shift north/east during the day. How far north this warm layer gets depends on the track of the surface low, but currently, it looks like this warm nose would remain over eastern Minnesota into parts of northern Wisconsin, which keeps northern Minnesota and Duluth on the colder side of this system, although for Duluth it may be a close call.
Surface temperatures on Wednesday are expected to be between 30 and 32 degrees in northeast Minnesota and 32 to 35 degrees in northwest Wisconsin, with the warmest temperatures likely around Siren and Hayward, extending east toward Ashland.
Severe thunderstorms are possible once again beginning on Tuesday over the central Plains in the yellow and dark green areas. The main threat is from large hail and damaging winds.
The threat of severe thunderstorms increases further on Wednesday, and the risk escalates as well, with all hazards possible, including tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds in the yellow and orange areas on the map below.
Thanks for reading!
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