After splendidly warm weather in the second half of March, this month of April has started out with temperatures that have been 5-10 degrees above average during the day with highs in the mid 50s to low 60s.  And as expected, with the somewhat cooler, drier air in place, there have been various rounds of frost/freeze conditions in the morning.  One big difference at this point of April compared to a year ago is that North Central Wisconsin should miss out on the risk of severe weather.  Back on April 10, 2011, a surge of warm air out ahead of low pressure and a cold front quickly provided the necessary ingredients for the development of numerous severe storms, including a total of 15 tornadoes in the Badger State.

A recap of the storms from that day, including archived radar images can be found on the NWS Green Bay website. 

April tends to be a bit early in the warm weather season for severe weather to have such a dramatic impact on Wisconsin, with May, June and July tending see a vast increase in the storm risk.  No less, it appears safe to say we should make it through at least the first half of this month without severe storms.  The main reasons for this is temperatures will not be surging into the 70s or higher, nor is there an anticipated sharp cold front that would bring enough instability for severe storms to blow up.  However as the weeks go on, that scenario will change with warmer days and when a front is in the neighborhood, a better chance that showers will be accompanied by thunderstorms.  Severe Weather & Tornado Awareness week is April 16th-20th, including a statewide tornado drill from 1-2pm on Thursday, April 19th.  You'll be hearing more about this in the near future.

Meantime, if you are interested in attending Storm Spotter Training, lead by employees of the National Weather Service in Green Bay, here's the upcoming schedule.  It should also be noted that a webinar will be held on Saturday, April 21st.