Severe thunderstorms and occasional tornadoes are making their way across the Ohio and Mississippi valleys tonight, following a powerful cold front that will plunge many of us midwesterners back into bitter cold. However, this burst of early severe storms may be a sign of the spring to come, as long range forecasts suggest a significant warmup come March, after the nasty cold we're likely to continue to see through February. Deep layers of cold air aloft are the playground for convective weather, as are the significant low pressure systems we've been seeing lately. The gulf of Mexico is already showing a warming trend as well, which is where our surface heat/humidity is drawn in from these low pressure systems. The question now is will the jet stream play along, or will it retreat into Canada early like it did last year?