The weather is about to change in a big way, but first we’ve got two more days of severe weather to close out a very active week. In this forecast I break down today’s risk zone stretching from Lake Erie all the way back into Texas — roughly 69 million people in the risk area — with the main concern being damaging winds. I’m talking about 60 to 65 mph gusts in spots, and storms are going to be pretty widespread, so a lot of you will at least see rain and many will hear thunder. The tornado threat overall looks fairly minimal, but I’m watching the Lake Erie region closely where the SPC has a 2% hatched tornado risk, and if we see any discrete supercells, northern Ohio into parts of PA/NY could briefly support something stronger. Severe weather isn’t the only story — I also go over the snow and ice impacting the Midwest and Great Lakes, including more icing on top of recent damage in Wisconsin. After this system, the pattern quiets down: Monday and Tuesday look amazing for most of the country with hardly any precip, just a cooler, more stable setup as Canada air filters in. Then we turn the page again late next week as troughing redevelops out West, and I’m eyeing a more active stretch roughly April 9th–14th with multiple systems and a return of organized severe potential. Bottom line: get through today, stay alert, enjoy the brief lull, and be ready for the ramp-up again.