Eventful start to May & lightning expedition tonight?

By DAN ROBINSON
Editor/Photographer

The capping inversion lost the battle in Oklahoma and Kansas yesterday, and today's setup in the Mississippi Valley is also doing much better than anticipated. The result has been quite the two-day tornado outbreak to start out the month of May.

Friday's storm reports as of 7:00PM EDT

At the same time, heavy snow and freezing temperatures are sweeping across Nebraska and nortrhwestern Kansas - and it's May 2!

5:50PM CDT observations

The Nebraska state highway cameras show snow-covered roads and icy bridges in the western parts of the state. Hard to believe that icy roads are still a threat in prime chase territory in early May!

So will this potent storm system bring some opportunities somewhere within easy range of here? Hopefully so - the NAM/WRF and RUC model forecasts show a healthy and slow-moving squall line in eastern Kentucky and Ohio overnight tonight, moving into Charleston around mid-morning. Radar shows new storms firing in central Kentucky - the beginnings of what could be a nice lightning expedition tonight. After a brief break, West Virginia may see another round of convection by sunset tomorrow if skies can clear out by mid-afternoon Saturday.