April 18, 2018

Temperature: 31°F
Dew Point: 24°F
Wind: NE  6 mph
Clouds: Nimbostratus
Precipitation: 30%

The Polar Vortex has shifted over the NE and an irregular wavy pattern has been created for the jet stream over the entire US. The Jet stream is starting to move below Wisconsin for today, which is why we could only be seeing a high of 38°F today.

Figure 1. Jet stream at 250 hPa (earth.nullschool.net).

However, after this cold front passes over the Midwest and the high pressure system moves in, there could be an upswing in temperatures for the weekends reaching high 40s to low 50s. In the meantime, there is another patch of snow accumulated in currently in southern Minnesota and Iowa. For the Eau Claire area we may only see about <1" of that snow throughout the day.

Figure 2. Surface forecast for 2:00 PM EDT April 18, 2018 (intellicast.com).

Areas of the highest precipiation are over the Dakotas and southern Minnesota. The heaviest snow will be in the middle of the day with winds blowing N-NW at 10-25 mph and will effect areas along I-90 the most.

Figure 3. United States Colored Water Vapor Satellite (accuweather.com).