Monday, April 13, 2015

April 13th, 2015

Tonight's migration...
what migration?
Greetings Illinois,

With extensive storm activity in Southern Illinois and northerly winds in the rest, I'm going to sum up tonight's migration in saying that there is none. While the still may be those intrepid individuals out there moving northward tonight, from a birder's perspective, these are negligible.

How did we lose the favorable conditions of last night so quickly? That's the power of cold fronts, my friends. Driven by the energy in a number of systems*, a rapidly moving cold front cut over the Prairie State today, kicking up moisture on its way. This is undoubtedly part of the reason for tonight's precipitation in Southern Illinois. This cold front cut in from northwest of us, followed by unfavorable northwesterly winds.

*fascinatingly, you can clearly see a high pressure center rotating clockwise west of IL in the wind map here

So, you ask, when might we expect favorable conditions again? Currently, it's forecast that we'll have to wait a few days, as winds are forecast to be southerly-based throughout the state on Thursday night. I'll keep you updated until then.

Winds aloft forecast for Thursday
night
With that, I must share that essential part of this report: the trust eBird Page. It, along with the latest BirdCast Report, can help you predict the cool things you'll find out there right now. In other news, I added a new page to the Illinois Migration Report blog, Arrivals and Influxes. In it is embedded a live map of winds that allows you to see what winds are doing now and also what winds will be doing the next few days. 2-in-1! Take a look at it by clicking here or by clicking "Live Wind Map" in the page bar above.

That's all for tonight folks! Good luck in all your (birding) endeavors.

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