Rounds of severe weather to slam millions across Central US as active spring pattern ignites nationwide

Days of severe weather are possible for much of the Central U.S. next week as the calendar flips to April, with an active weather pattern expected to take hold across the Southern Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley.

Days of severe weather are possible for much of the Central U.S. next week as the calendar flips to April, with an active weather pattern expected to take hold across the Southern Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley.

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This pattern change is right on cue, as April is historically when spring severe weather season begins to intensify across the middle of the country — April averages the second-most tornadoes behind May.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, severe storms could develop beginning Tuesday evening from Missouri through Indiana and Ohio. Meanwhile, a second severe weather threat could develop next weekend, signaling what the Forecast Center said appears to be just the start of a prolonged stormy pattern.

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"By late Tuesday, a developing area of low pressure moving through the Central Plains will begin interacting with a surge of warm, humid air coming north from the Gulf." 

Rain and thunderstorms could move into the Northeast and New England by Wednesday and Thursday as the system charges east.

This also marks the start of a stretch of rain and storms for the eastern two-thirds over the next week to ten days, according to the long-range forecast from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

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By next weekend, the Pacific jet stream, which acts as an atmospheric conveyor belt for storms, is expected to shift into what the FOX Forecast Center called "a classic setup," with a large dip in the jet stream over the West and a ridge over the East.

"As this setup takes hold, it will likely refocus the severe weather threat over more typical areas like Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas," the Forecast Center said.

This pattern change signals the beginning of spring severe weather season across the Southern Plains. But despite the destructive potential of these storms, this pattern could also bring much-needed rain to the region which is almost completely in drought.

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