A wind with no name
In 1959, Loerner and Lowe composed a song entitled, They Call the Wind Mariah, for the musical Paint Your Wagon. Tropical storms are named, but not the gradient winds that howl through the prairies of the nation's midsection. I've seen stronger winds in Minnesota than those which alarm coastal residents with the potential for 45 mph wind gusts simply because the tropical storm has a name.
Earlier today I spied a report of sustained winds of 38 mph with gusts to 54 mph at Marshall, Minnesota. High Wind Warnings are in effect for southwest Minnesota with a wind advisory posted until this evening for south central Minnesota.
Winds ushering in milder air across the Upper Mississippi Valley are a sign of spring, when snow can melt rapidly, frost dissolves in the soil, thawing of the lake ice is accelerated and the landscape quickly gives up the recent moisture.
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Today's gusty winds are the result of nature atoning for the chill of last week and gracing us with seasonal temperatures. Surface pressures are falling as a trough of low pressure takes shape in the Dakotas. This change in air masses could induce a few showers on Wednesday as slightly cooler air reaches northwest Minnesota and the winds switch back to the northwest.
We could initiate a process to name blustery winds after meteorologists. Today, I'll call this blast of warmer wind, Craig.
CE
Naturesmessenger.com