After a week that continued the trend of a cooler spring and delivered unseasonably cold temperatures to much of the country last week, this week looks to start off on a different note. The western U.S. and parts of the Plains and Midwest have seen some of the lowest spring precipitation amounts in decades — some the lowest in history in parts of California — while a more active pattern has delivered rainfall, some in the form of severe storms, throughout the Southeast. A change in the overall pattern for much of the nation’s central third means warming temperatures and high winds that are fueling Red Flag Warnings in the Southwest. A warm front will move through the central Plains and Midwest in the first half of the week before a cold front moves into the country from the west. That transition will cause storms in parts of the southern Plains and scattered showers from western Nebraska to the Great Lakes region. Look for a generally warmer week ahead with a lot of spring planting progress. See more from the latest outlook.