Funny weather patterns

[favoritos]

John,

How are you doing?

Just a quick question. Seems like our storms have been rolling through much different lately around the Twin Cities and central MN. The latest pattern is to see them come through from the NW. The cells are moving SE direction. It just seems different because I grew up watching the SW skies for storms. Is this pattern something new in the region?

Just wondering. I'm a person that loves to see a good rain and I'm curious how long I need to watch the NW skies vs what I used to watch?

 

[jd]

The direction a thunderstorm travels is dependent on the flow of winds in which it is occurring. Many times the mistake is made by persons thinking the surface winds are a certain direction and that is the direction that clouds and precip will come from, but the winds aloft can be from a different direction and thus the clouds and precip come from a different direction that the surface winds are blowing.

Now, as far as your situation, I really cannot comment on the dominate direction for thunderstorms, but can say that to have them come in from the SW, W or NW is not unusual at all. To have them come in from the E, NE or SE would be as most things this far north have some kind of a westerly component to them. So I guess the bottom line is that the storms coming in from the NW are not too unusual at all- especially when coming the result of a cold front moving in from the NW.

-John