The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

Across the eastern half of the nation, a weak area of low pressure was found moving through the Great Lakes region during the morning hours.

A swath of snowfall moved across northern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan dropping anywhere from one to three inches of snowfall. Further to the south, mainly rain showers were noted over portions of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois while some patchy freezing drizzle could be found over Minnesota. Rainfall amounts varied from one to two tenths of an inch. This system continued eastward, spreading light showers into northern Pennsylvania and light snow across upstate New York overnight. Elsewhere, a warm front was found pushing through the Lower Mississippi Valley offering light rain showers across portions of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. Rainfall amounts generally less than a tenth of an inch across these areas. Otherwise, clouds moved across the Great Lakes and northeastern region, while most of the south and southeast remained sunny to partly sunny.

Active weather continued across the western U.S. A low pressure system, ejecting out of the Rockies of Wyoming, produced wind gusts of over 50 mph in some places as the system deepened. This system spread showers across eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska with mountain snows from northern Colorado to Montana. This system continued to organize overnight as it pushed eastward into southwestern South Dakota. A shield of snow develop on the northern side of this system, spreading across South Dakota and North Dakota overnight. Radar estimates of 2 to 5 inches have fallen overnight across northern South Dakota. This system will likely drop a wide track of 5 to 10 inches of snow across South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin today, while possibly covering portions of northern Iowa and southern Wisconsin with a quarter of an inch of ice. a disturbance pushing onshore from the eastern Pacific has resulted in scattered rain showers and high elevation snowfall across the Pacific Northwest. Rainfall amounts have varied this morning from one tenth to four tenths of an inch across the coastal valley areas. Scattered snow showers have also been noted across the northern Sierras as this system moved onshore. Snowfall reports have been minimal at this time due to the onset of the storm however accumulations upwards of 15 inches may occur in some locations. Otherwise, excessive cloud cover was noted across the Northwest while mainly sunny skies were found in the Southwest; with the exception of the Los Angeles basin where a solid and deep marine layer was observed.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............98 Laredo, TX

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..............95 Laredo, TX

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............-15 East Berkshire, VT

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)..............-25 Hallock, MN

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................57 Riverton, WY

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............1.07 Eugene, OR

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY: In 1910, a winter storm pounded the state of Washington. Laconia was buried under 129 inches of snow, setting a single storm record for the state. In 1972, 3 days of heavy rain atop a six inch snow pack contributed to the failure of a dam along Buffalo Creek in West Virginia. The dam burst sending a fifty foot wall of water down a narrow valley, killing 125 people and causing $51 million damage. In 1990, ten cities across the northeastern U.S. reported new record low temperatures, including Syracuse, NY with a reading of 10 degrees below zero. DTN-Meteorlogix/J Stephen

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