As of April 1, residents of Fresno and Clovis could start watering their lawns and flowerbeds three days a week — Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for odd-numbered addresses, and Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday for even-numbered addresses.

A high-pressure system parked over the Valley is bringing warmer-than-usual daytime highs to Fresno and the rest of the Valley, National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Harty said Tuesday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures will be 12 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year in Fresno, he said.

The thermometer is forecast to climb up to 86 degrees on Thursday in Fresno and then slide back down this weekend into the upper 70s as a system moves onshore, he said.

“There is some small indications that we could potentially around this time next week, Tuesday of next week, maybe see a little weak system moving towards the coast that could bring us some precipitation, mainly over the mountains,” Harty said. “But there’s pretty low confidence in that right now.”

Rainy Season Is Over

As of Tuesday, Fresno was at about 87% of total rainfall for this time of year, but much of that was the result of March storms that brought welcome rain to the Valley and snow to the Sierra, he said.

“It was looking really bleak a couple months ago, back in January. A pretty significant drought was shaping up, but luckily, in the last few weeks, we’ve gotten some good systems and rebounded closer to normal,” he said.

April typically marks the end of the winter rainy season and the start of hotter and drier weather in Fresno, Harty said.

Fresno’s forecasts for this week and weekend: Tuesday, high of 77, overnight low of 53; Wednesday, 82 high, 56 low; Thursday, 86 high, 57 low; Friday, 84 high, 55 low; Saturday, 78 high, 50 low; Sunday, 78 high, 52 low; Monday, a high of 82.

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In contrast, fewer Eastern residents reported extreme weather events, down to 21% from 30% in previous years. The South, where extreme weather is most common, saw a modest increase, while the Midwest experienced small upticks as well.

The March 3-16 poll coincides with a period of strong hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes across the U.S. Wildfires and extreme heat have been particularly impactful in the West. Seventeen percent of Western residents reported being affected by wildfires, up from just 5% in 2023. Additionally, 11% experienced excessive heat, compared to 5% two years ago.

Southern residents are most affected by hurricanes, with 28% reporting exposure in the past two years. Tornadoes and extreme cold also had significant impacts on those in the Midwest, while floods were the leading extreme weather event in the East.

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One in four Americans affected by extreme weather reported significant life disruptions, such as power outages or property damage. The survey also found that those who had experienced extreme weather were significantly more likely to express heightened concern about climate change.

Read more at Gallup.

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There were already tornado warnings Wednesday morning near the Missouri cities of Joplin and Columbia — merely the opening acts of what forecasters expect will be a more intense period of violent weather later Wednesday, as daytime heating combines with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming into the nation’s mid-section from the Gulf.

The potent storm system will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” starting Wednesday and continuing each day through Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

With more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain possible over the next four days, the prolonged deluge “is an event that happens once in a generation to once in a lifetime,” the weather service said in one of its flood warnings. “Historic rainfall totals and impacts are possible.”

The flood fears come as residents in parts of Michigan continued to dig out from a weekend ice storm.

Floods Could Inundate Towns, Sweep Cars Away

Thunderstorms with multiple rounds of heavy rain were forecast in parts of Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley beginning midweek and lasting through Saturday. Forecasters warned the storms could track over the same areas repeatedly and produce heavy rains and dangerous flash floods capable of sweeping cars away.

Rain totaling up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) was forecast over the next seven days in northeastern Arkansas, the southeast corner of Missouri, western Kentucky and southern parts of Illinois and Indiana, the weather service warned.

“We’re potentially looking at about two months of rain in just a handful of days,” Thomas Jones, a weather service meteorologist in Little Rock, Arkansas, said Monday.

Parts of Arkansas, west Tennessee, western Kentucky and southern Indiana were at an especially high risk for flooding, the weather service said.

Tornado Seen in Kansas and More Could Be Coming

At least one tornado was spotted Tuesday night in Kansas. “Take cover now!” the weather service’s office in Wichita warned residents on the social platform X.

No injuries were reported from the Kansas twister. Tornado warnings were also issued in Missouri on Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of those.

Along with tornadoes, high winds with gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) were also expected across large parts of the Midwest.

The ominous forecast comes nearly two years to the day that an EF-3 tornado struck Little Rock, Arkansas. No one was killed but that twister caused major destruction to neighborhoods and businesses that are still being rebuilt today.

More than 90 million people are at some risk of severe weather in a huge part of the nation that stretches from Texas to Minnesota and Maine, according to the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center.

Strong and Long-Lasting Tornadoes Appear Likely in Highest-Risk Area

About 2.5 million people are in a rarely-called “high-risk” zone. That area most at risk of catastrophic weather on Wednesday includes parts of west Tennessee including Memphis; northeast Arkansas; the southeast corner of Missouri; and parts of western Kentucky and southern Illinois.

A tornado outbreak was expected Wednesday, and “multiple long-track EF3+ tornadoes, appear likely,” the Storm Prediction Center said. Tornadoes of that magnitude are among the strongest on the Enhanced Fujita scale, used to rate their intensity.

At a slightly lower risk for severe weather on Wednesday is an area that includes Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Louisville, Kentucky, and Little Rock, Arkansas. Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Nashville, Tennessee, were also at risk.

Wintry Mix Blasts Upper Midwest

In Michigan, crews worked to restore power after a weekend ice storm toppled trees and power poles. More than 135,000 customers in northern Michigan and 11,000 in northern Wisconsin were still without electricity Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

Schools in several counties in Michigan’s the mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula have been closed as deputies used chain saws to clear roads and drivers lined up at gas stations. And more wintry weather was on the way: A mix of sleet and freezing rain could keep roads treacherous into Wednesday across parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, the weather service said.

Heavy, wet snow also was forecast into Wednesday across the eastern Dakotas and parts of Minnesota.

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The National Weather Service in Hanford has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra Nevada north of the Kings River and a Winter Weather Advisory south of the river.

3/31/2025 10am Update:
Cold and windy conditions this morning with 7.5″ (19 cm) of #snow in the last day and 9.6″ (24.5 cm) in the last 2 days.

We’re expecting 2-4 feet of snow through tomorrow night, which should bring us close to hitting average on April 1!#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/FQhzmqUhJK

— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) March 31, 2025

Between 1 and 3 feet of snow is expected in Mariposa, Madera, and Fresno counties north of the Kings River. And, up to 10 inches could fall in Fresno and Tulare counties south of the Kings, NWS said in its Monday forecast discussion.

While most of the snow will fall at elevations of 6,000 feet and above, there will be a window of time in which the snow level falls to as low at 3,500 feet.

Rain in the Forecast, Too

The Monday evening forecast for Fresno calls for showers and the possibility of thunderstorms. There’s a 70% chance of rain Tuesday, most of which is expected to fall between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m.

A weather-making low-pressure trough is expected to give way to the arrival of a high-pressure ridge and afternoon highs reaching nearly 80 degrees by the weekend.

Remember when Fall met Winter last year? And now it seems Summer is meeting Winter this year. It’s like #MotherNature can’t make up her mind on any season and just wants them all together. #CAHighSierra #yosemite IG v_outdoors; @yosemitenation pic.twitter.com/2Ba6WWeW57

— California High Sierra (@cahighsierra) March 24, 2025

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The victims were a 2-year-old girl, her 4-year-old brother and a 11-year-old girl who was their cousin, the Kalamazoo County sheriff’s office said. Three more people were injured Sunday in the crash in Climax Township, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of Detroit.

“It appears weather is the main contributing factor to this accident,” the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators said a tree had struck the vehicle. Kalamazoo County had been under a severe thunderstorm warning at the time, one of several Sunday in southern Michigan.

More Than 300,000 Power Outages Reported

More than 300,000 power outages were reported Monday in Michigan, while more than 100,000 outages were posted for Wisconsin and Indiana.

In Valparaiso, Indiana, investigators believe severe crosswinds blew over a tractor trailer Sunday afternoon, killing the driver at the property of Pratt Industries, the Porter County sheriff’s office said. Jagbir Singh, 34, of Ontario, Canada, was found outside of the passenger compartment.

A warehouse in Elkhart, Indiana, was destroyed by Sunday’s storms, though no injuries were reported, WSBT-TV said.

Winds in southwest Ohio toppled a church steeple, damaged homes and flipped campers Sunday night, authorities said. No injuries were reported. A school district north of Cincinnati said it would not open Monday because of storm damage.

Storm damage was reported in several counties in Tennessee, including Maury and Humphreys counties, WSMV-TV reported. Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis reported damage across the county, including a roof torn off a house. The homeowners were trapped inside, but not injured.

Clusters of thunderstorms accompanied by strong to severe wind gusts and perhaps a few tornadoes could spread across much of the Southeast on Monday, the National Weather Service said.

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Nearly 3.5 inches has fallen in Fresno in March, bringing the seasonal total to 7.51 inches, which is 89% of normal.

This morning’s rain could be accompanied by wind gusts to 15 mph. The chance of precipitation tonight is 70%, NWS says, and could include thunderstorms before 8 p.m.

Should the thunderstorms develop, expect brief heavy rain, small hail, and gusty winds, NWS said in a social media post.

There is a slight chance of thunderstorms for all Central California. Expect briefing heavy rain, small hail, and gusty winds with any thunderstorms that develop. #cawx pic.twitter.com/UGKhOsfW3x

— NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) March 17, 2025

In the Sierra, another foot of snow is expected at locations above 5,000 feet in elevation. According to the state Department of Water Resources, the snowpack is 92% of normal, dipping to 86% in the central Sierra. However, the Northern Sierra is 107% of normal.

For the remainder of the week, expect mostly sunny days and partly cloudy nights. Temperatures are expected to range from overnight lows in the high 30s to mid-40s with afternoon highs warming from 61 on Tuesday to 73 by Sunday.

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Travelers in the Lake Tahoe region had to navigate closed roads, highways open under chain and speed controls, and crashed vehicles.

Fresno Forecast Features More Rain

In Fresno, the National Weather Service recorded 1.56 inches of rain from 8 p.m. Wednesday to noon today — the wettest event of the winter.

There is a 40% chance of rain, including thunderstorms, through Thursday night. Friday morning will bring an 80% chance of rain, falling to 30% Friday evening.

The NWS forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 62 degrees Saturday. The high temperature will rise to nearly 70 Sunday before another storm is expected to arrive that night.

Monday’s forecast includes an 80% chance of rain.

Related Story: March Megastorm May Bring Blizzards, Tornadoes, Flooding and Even Fires Across ...

Strong Winds Whip Through the Valley

NWS Hanford issued bulletins warning of wind gusts to 40 mph and possible hail at several Valley locations on Thursday.

A special weather statement has been issued for Porterville CA, Lindsay CA and East Porterville CA until 12:30 PM PDT pic.twitter.com/2qGVrjszb6

— NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) March 13, 2025

High winds also buffeted the Sacramento area as the airport reported a gust of 51 mph and a 52 mph gust was recorded in Stockton.

Over on the Central Coast, NWS reported that most San Luis Obispo County communities received 1 to 2 inches of rain over the 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Thursday.

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Scientists said the storm’s strength and potential for far-reaching impacts is notable, but its timing isn’t particularly unusual. Extreme weather can pop up in spring because storms feed on big temperature differences between the warmth that’s starting to show up and the lingering chill of winter.

“If there’s a time of the year where a storm like this can deliver these coast-to-coast impacts, we are in it,” said Benjamin Reppert, meteorologist at Penn State University.

Megastorm Brings Winds, Fire Risk

The National Weather Service forecast strong winds stretching Friday from the Canadian border to the Rio Grande, with gusts up to 80 mph (130 kph), which creates a significant fire risk in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, a winter blast was expected farther north in parts of the Rockies and Northern Plains, with possible blizzard conditions in the Dakotas and Minnesota.

The central region from the Gulf Coast to Wisconsin is at risk of severe thunderstorms that could spawn tornadoes and hail. On Saturday, severe storms are forecast to move toward Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and then into Florida. Potential flooding was a concern from the Central Gulf Coast through the upper Ohio Valley.

The turbulent weather is expected to arrive on the East Coast Sunday with strong winds and a flash flooding risk in localized areas. Heavy rain was forecast along the Interstate 95 corridor south to Jacksonville, Florida.

Temperatures in Upper Atmosphere Close to Record Levels

Reppert noted that temperatures in the upper atmosphere in much of the central and eastern U.S. are close to record levels for this time of year, while a cool air mass behind the storm in the western states is one of the coolest on record for that region and this time of year. He said that combination could be behind part of this storm’s expected strength.

Russ Schumacher, a climatologist at Colorado State University, said the storm could become a bomb cyclone Friday afternoon or evening — a designation given when a storm intensifies so rapidly that atmospheric pressure drops a certain amount in a 24-hour period. That would mean higher winds and more intense rainfall.

In addition to fuel from big temperature swings, the storm will be shaped by the jet stream. In a fairly typical position for this time of year, it’s diving south across the U.S. and will help lift air and moisture into the atmosphere to fall back as rain.

The storm also will tap into heat and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, also referred to as the Gulf of America as declared by President Donald Trump, which is 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 to 2.2 degrees Celsius) warmer than historic averages.

“You kind of have this Goldilocks situation,” said Ryan Torn, professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at the University at Albany, referring to the mix of ingredients in the atmosphere that will add to the storm’s strength.

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That stands to reason.

The heavy rain and wind events most known for dousing California and other parts of the West have been getting bigger, wetter and more frequent in the past 45 years as the world warms, according to a comprehensive study of atmospheric rivers in the current issue of the Journal of Climate.

Atmospheric Rivers: Growing in Size and Frequency

Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor. They take water from oceans and flow through the sky dumping rain in prodigious amounts. They have increased in the area they soak by 6 to 9% since 1980, increased in frequency by 2 to 6% and are slightly wetter than before, the study said.

Scientists have long predicted that as climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas makes the air warmer, it holds more moisture, which means bigger, nastier atmospheric rivers are coming in the future. This week’s study shows that a more moist future is already here.

“This doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily all because of climate change. We didn’t study that, but it does line up, broadly speaking, with some expectations of how (atmospheric rivers) will change in a warming atmosphere,” study lead author Lexi Henny, an atmospheric scientist at the University of North Carolina who did her research while at NASA.

What’s happened already “is still small relative to the changes that we think are going to happen” in a future warmer world, Henny said.

Related Story: New Atmospheric River Expected to Boost Sierra Snowpack

The Dangers of Atmospheric Rivers

While atmospheric rivers can bring much needed rain to drought-struck places, they are often dangerous when they are strong and last long. Just over a year ago a series of atmospheric rivers caused hundreds of mudslides and killed several people in California. In the 1860s, California had to move its capital out of Sacramento because of an atmospheric river flooding.

These events aren’t just a California thing. They actually happen all over the United States and the world, though sometimes don’t get recognized as atmospheric rivers, Henry said. An atmospheric river in New England in 2023 brought a foot of rain and 50 mph winds. A 2020 atmospheric river dumped 99 inches of snow on Alaska.

Implications for Future Research

The paper not only makes sense, but is rich with new details and data that will help researchers figure out what will happen with these bouts of intense rain and snow in the future, said Christine Shields, a water scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, who wasn’t part of the research.

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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Meanwhile, forecasters warned that a Pacific storm was expected to bring widespread rain and mountain snow across California and other parts of the West from Wednesday into Friday.

A tornado watch was issued Wednesday morning for parts of North and South Carolina until early afternoon. Tornado warnings were issued in Florida, North and South Carolina and Virginia on Wednesday morning.

Mardi Gras Adjusts to Weather Threats

On Tuesday, high winds forced some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which moved up and shortened the two biggest parades to wrap them up ahead of the bad weather. Tornadoes touched down Tuesday in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, according to preliminary information from the National Weather Service.

In Mississippi, two people died due to the severe weather, Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday in a social media post without going into detail. WAPT-TV reported that one person died from a falling power line in Madison County, while a driver in the same county was killed by a tree falling on his car.

Related Story: Delta Plane Flips on Toronto Runway Amid Winter Storm

Blizzard Conditions Hit Midwest

Blizzard conditions hit eastern Nebraska overnight into Wednesday, bringing around 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) of snow and winds up to 65 mph (105 kph), limiting visibility and closing numerous snowy roads, including a stretch of Interstate 80.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area, southern Minnesota and much of Iowa were on the downward slide of a powerful winter storm. The storm brought the heaviest snow of the season to Minneapolis, where the National Weather Service reported 7.4 inches (18.8 centimeters) at the airport, and it was still falling early Wednesday. That easily beat the 5.5 inches (14 centimeters) that fell at the airport Dec. 19.

Other parts of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area got hit even harder, with 11 inches reported in Stillwater and Woodbury and some communities getting as much as 12 to 13 inches.

“I wouldn’t want to say it’s unheard of or unusual but it’s still pretty remarkable to see the power of nature with these storms,” National Weather Service meteorologist Jacob Beitlich said.

Widespread Impacts Across the Nation

The slippery roads led to dozens of crashes, the Minnesota State Patrol reported. As of 7 a.m., the State Patrol had recorded 70 crashes with property damage, two injury crashes, 111 vehicles off the road, 25 spinouts and seven jackknifed semis.

Schools across the Midwest closed, delayed opening or switched to e-learning. The winds that caused significant damage in some suburban Kansas City neighborhoods brought down trees and limbs that blocked roads and knocked out power to some buildings, according to Shawnee Mission District, one of the largest in Kansas. The district delayed opening.

In a South Carolina community near Myrtle Beach, where firefighters have been battling wildfires since the weekend, Horry County Fire Rescue said in a social media post that air drops weren’t planned Wednesday due to heavy winds and that could limit strategic responses to flare-ups and spot fires. Firefighters won’t enter the woods if winds become too intense because many trees have been structurally compromised. Instead, they will instead flow water from outside those areas.

The storms have left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity service on Wednesday morning across the central and southeastern United States, including more than 98,000 customers in Texas, about 48,000 in Tennessee and about 42,000 in Alabama, according to PowerOutage.us.

Gusts in the northeast U.S. could also lead to ground stops or delays at major airports in that region, the Federal Aviation Administration said in its operational plan for the day. The storm was beginning to snarl traffic at some of the nation’s busiest airports on the East Coast, which typically causes ripple effects throughout the nation’s commercial aviation system. Nearly 600 flights scheduled to fly into or out of U.S. airports on Wednesday have been canceled, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks cancellations and delays nationwide.

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