Mother’s Day Forecast – National Weather Outlook For May 9, 2021

National Weather Forecast

On Mother’s Day Sunday, an area of low pressure will move from the Central Plains to the Ohio Valley, and with a trailing cold front will bring showers and storms from the Northeast back into the central United States. Another system sinking south across the Rockies will bring the chance of rain and higher elevation snow.

Through Monday evening, at least 1-3” of rain could fall from portions of the Central Plains into the Ohio Valley, as well as across the Lower Mississippi Valley. Up to a foot and a half of snow could fall from the Nothern to the Central Rockies.

Through next Saturday morning, a total of at least 2-4” of rain could fall across portions of the Lower Mississippi Valley. With recent heavier rains in this region, this could lead to flooding.

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First in Flight: NASA Just Proved Flying on Mars Is Possible—Next Up Is the Solar System

More from Scientific American: “Picture the scene: A small drone the size of a suitcase descends into a dark Martian crevasse—perhaps a lava tube that was formed billions of years ago by volcanic activity on the Red Planet. The drone illuminates its surroundings, recording views never seen before by human eyes as its suite of instruments seeks out signs of past or present alien biology. Finally, its reconnaissance complete, the drone flies back to a landing zone on the surface to transmit invaluable data back to Earth. After soaking up the Martian sunlight to recharge its batteries, it continues its explorations of terrain inaccessible to any other machine. Far from being some starry-eyed flight of fancy, such a mission could soon become a reality thanks to the resounding success of NASA’s Ingenuity rotorcraft, sometimes referred to as a helicopter or drone—a technology demonstration that has taken place on Mars over the past few weeks.”

Drought conditions reduce Missouri River runoff forecast

More from the Sioux City Journal: “One of the driest Aprils on record has caused Missouri River reservoir system managers to begin considering water conservation measures later in the year. Runoff into the river basin above Sioux City in April was 44% of average, the ninth-driest level in 123 years of record keeping. As a result, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dropped its 2021 runoff forecast to 17.8 million acre-feet, 69% of average, and down from the 21.3 MAF forecast last month. If the forecast holds, it would rank as the 22nd lowest year for runoff. The average annual runoff is 25.8 MAF. The low amount of water flowing into the river’s six reservoirs could affect barge shipping downstream later this summer and winter water releases, said John Remus, chief of the corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.”

Minnesota might be the next state to adopt California emissions standards

More from CNET: “California has a right that no other state has, and that is to set its own vehicle emissions standards, provided they’re more stringent than the standards adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency. A handful of states have decided to join California in adopting its emissions standards and clean car rules for themselves. According to a report published Friday by the Star Tribune, Minnesota may be the next to come on board. I say “may” because while a Minnesota administrative law judge said that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency could enact these rules without requiring them to go through the state legislature, there are likely to be plenty of lawmakers and lobbyists who will fight the decision. These include Republican state Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, who has threatened to shut down the state’s environmental agencies by refusing to pass a budget for them if the agency moves forward.”

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– D.J. Kayser