Warmth out west with a strong ridge will eventually push east into this weekend until the next storm system drags yet more colder Canadian air into the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast for the beginning of April. Slowly but surely, we’re warming up across the Lower 48 with nationwide averaged high temperatures in the mid-60s, but plenty of 80s by area and population into the weekend.

For severe weather in the Plains and up the Mississippi River valley, we look for moisture out of the Gulf of America surging northward. Into this weekend, return flow (green and yellow) finally punches into the dry continental air mass (gray colors) combining with late March warmth to fire convection and thunderstorms. We just need an area of low pressure — and we’ll get a storm forming in the lee of the Rockies by Saturday. Thus, potential severe weather outbreak Sat/Sun in the center of the Lower 48.