Regime Shift in the Weather

You'll often hear us meteorologists talk about pattern changes in the weather forecast. Outdoorsmen and women are usually in-tune with those changes, and so is the game we pursue. Sometimes the shift is so stark it feels like we're in an entirely different climate from just one day to the next.

Our new weather pattern with a northerly flow favors cooler
and drier weather. We may still be above average, but it wont
be the summer-like heat we had last week.

We'll we've had more than just a pattern change from last week to this week, in fact I'll call it a "regime shift." As a result, our air currents are coming from entirely different parts of the country. Last week we had storms or storm chances just about every day. The culprit was the classic early-summer setup with a southwesterly jet stream flow at the upper levels of the atmosphere and tropical air with high humidity at the surface. Barometric pressure last week averaged out on the low side, and cloud cover was better than 50%.

These are fair weather cumulus. When these clouds are
 wider than they are tall, rain is not likely.

This week and even into next week, we'll see the opposite side of the Spring weather coin. The jet stream flow will be out of the northwest and the resulting air at the surface will be cooler and much drier. The 6-10 day outlook has cooler and drier Canadian air moving in about 80% of the forecast. This is one of the best times of the year to be outside. Comfortably cool nights and mild afternoons and low chances for rain leave little to complain about.

Cumulus that are taller than they are wide are unstable and
often are a classic sign of storms brewing. Once they become tall
and wide and begin to rain they are called cumulonimbus.

This is excellent news for 4th Season Turkey hunters! Blue sky high pressure systems with comfortable temperatures are dynamite systems for strutting toms. I have always had great luck calling and sighting these old birds under high pressure. So don't try to use the weather as an excuse, get out and good luck!