May 12th, 2015

Tonight's winds. Click
image to view live.

Evening everyone,

Thanks to not one, but two high pressure centers directly west of Illinois, we are currently steeped in northerly winds. Functioning as headwinds, these conditions are keeping most migrants grounded tonight, with the perpetual exception of Southern Illinois, whose radar stations are still showing some moderate movements. As such, arrivals and influxes tomorrow will not be apparent in most places tomorrow. Ho-hum. 

Tonight's radar. Click
image to view live.

Given the quiet skies over Illinois tonight, let's see what the wind forecast has in store. The forecast for tomorrow night remains to be east-southeasterly winds, which may or may not be conducive to migration. Though the strength of the winds may be a little too much for migrants, stay tuned. As we know well, nature is unpredictable. From there, Thursday is forecast to hold the return of southerly winds, but my do they return with a vengeance. Winds are forecast to be nearly 40 knots (~46 miles per hour) in some places. Such tailwinds are often a little too strong for <1 ounce migrants, but we'll see what happens. After that, winds are forecast to remain southerly--and powerful--at least through Sunday. I'll keep you posted.

Wind forecast for Thursday night. Click
image to view live.

Until then, keep up the good bird finding! Predict what you'll find...and perhaps what you don't expect to find...using this eBird Page and the latest BirdCast National Forecast.

Good birding, all!