Enjoy the "Zone" in the Tri-State this week - 14 News, WFIE, Evansville, Henderson, Owensboro

The Tri-State will be in a zonal flow pattern for much of the week.  You can see in this model the lines on the map are almost horizontal…these are the height lines at 300 mb, and the winds tend to blow nearly parallel to the height lines at this altitude, roughly 30,000 feet.  These winds (jetstream) tend to steer surface systems and also help pull or advect air across the map.  Since we are drawing on a Pacific airmass, temperatures will moderate into the 50's toward the end of the week.

 High pressure at the surface will scoot to the east by Wednesday and Thursday, so the winds on the backside of the high will pull up from the south and southwest, again reinforcing milder air. 

 Zonal patterns usually whisk weather systems across the country at a faster pace than when we have large waves or ridge/trough patterns in the upper atmosphere.  Ridge-trough patterns show up with jetstream lines running from north to south on the map.  This scenario often produces more dramatic shifts in the weather from hot to cold.  We also tend to see more severe weather or unsettled conditions when the jetstream has waves as it moves across the nation.

 So, for now, enjoy the zone !  It means we'll not have to worry about any drastic changes in the weather as long as the pattern holds up.