Moisture Tongue

This is a term that is used often in the weather world and you may here us say it a few times over the next few days. But what exactly is it and how does it effect our weather? A moisture tongue starts with a south wind, which is typically found in the center of the nation on the back side of high pressure. Clockwise flow around a high pressure creates that south wind. That air comes from the Gulf of Mexico which is rich in moisture. As that air continues its journey northward, it transports warm moist air into the Midwest creating a tongue like region that has a lot of moisture. You can see this tongue in the dew point map below.This moisture tongue is a critical element to bring South Dakota not only thunderstorms and heavy rain but sever weather as well. Here is the extended outlook for expected severe weather from the storm prediction center. All areas inside the circle in the picture below have a shot at severe weather on Monday.So enjoy the dry conditions while they last because its going to look, feel, and sound a lot more like spring as we go into the weekend.

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz