Half the Country Faces Severe Thunderstorm Risk

A substantial shift in the nation's weather pattern is poised to place nearly half the country at risk for severe thunderstorms. The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center has issued guidance indicating the atmosphere is primed for more active spring conditions. This change heralds the possibility of rain, thunderstorms, and severe weather developing from the Plains into the Mississippi and Ohio valleys as early March approaches.

The incoming severe weather marks an abrupt departure from the recent winter conditions experienced in the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast. Warmer air is surging northward, and stronger upper-level winds are establishing the conditions necessary for widespread thunderstorm development. Meteorologists describe this impending shift as a "clash between winter and spring."