The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

Mainly quiet weather was observed east of the Rockies through the day Thursday. High pressure anchored over the Great Lakes halted any advance of the active weather into the Plains. Rain and thunderstorms developed across western portions of the Central and Southern Plains with severe weather popping up in the afternoon and evening. Reports of large hail came in from Nebraska south to western Texas. The strongest storms occurred over western Texas where numerous reports of tornadoes came in.

The system responsible for the severe weather in Texas also brought a blast of winter to areas of the Central and Southern Rockies. Heavy snow fell over the Wasatch Mountains of Utah where the highest elevations reported 2-3 feet of snowfall over the life of the storm that ended early Thursday. Lower elevations only picked up a couple of inches in and around Salt Lake City. Snowfall was a bit more consistent through the day over the higher terrain of Wyoming on Thursday. Snowfall ranged from 6-12 inches over the higher terrain with 1-2 inches reported at the lower elevations.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)..............94 Laredo and Harlingen, TX

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)...............97 Harlingen, TX

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)...............11 Bellemont, AZ

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)................11 Rock Springs, WY

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH)......................55 Ruidoso, NM

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES).............0.85 Amarillo, TX

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1965, rivers crested in St. Paul, Minn. exceeding the previous record by 4 feet. The record heights were observed down river all the way to Hannibal, Mo. Damage exceeded $100 million while 12 people lost their lives.

In 1990, a violent thunderstorm with near 100 mph winds in Oklahoma City blew away a load of tax returns about to be sent.

In 1991, 2 inches of rain fell in just 45 minutes during a thunderstorm at Winston-Salem N.C.

Filed by DTN-Meteorlogix

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