The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

It was relatively quiet across the east yesterday. A departing low pressure system brought showers and a few thunderstorms to southern Virginia and North Carolina during the early morning hours. This activity pushed offshore after sunrise. There were also a few light rain and snow showers over the Northeast, but no significant snow accumulation occurred. An area of high pressure brought fair weather conditions to the rest of the area.

In the central United States, an area of low pressure moved into the Plains and produced snow across the northern High Plains, western South Dakota and western Nebraska. Snow accumulations across South Dakota and Nebraska were generally in the 2 to 4 inch range with up to 7 inches being reported in western Nebraska. East Rapid City, SD set a new all-time snowiest winter for them with 80.5 inches this season. The mountains of southern Montana and Wyoming also saw light snow with generally 1 to 3 inches being reported. Meanwhile, rain showers and isolated thunderstorms extended southeastward through the Missouri River Valley and into the southern Plains. Showers and isolated thunderstorms spread eastward across Missouri and Arkansas during the day. Thunderstorms became severe during the late afternoon across eastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas as a line of thunderstorms pushed east into Missouri, Arkansas, and northern Louisiana into the evening and overnight. Dozens of severe hail and wind reports were noted across a nine state area overnight. Numerous tornadoes were reported across northern Louisiana, western Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma. These storms were still producing severe weather early this morning as they pushed into IL, KY, TN, and MS. The low also produced gusty westerly winds in western Oklahoma and western Texas. Wind gusts of 40-60 mph resulted in widespread areas of blowing dust. Across Texas, Austin and San Antonio both set new record highs yesterday. High pressure brought fair and dry weather to the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes through much of the day.

Across the Western U.S. a large area of low pressure brought mostly cloudy skies, rain showers, and mountain snow to the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, and northern California. Precipitation ended over many areas of the northern Rockies after sunset. However, rain and mountain snows lingered overnight across northern and central California as well as the Cascades of Washington and Oregon. Areas across coastal southern California remained cloudy, while dry weather prevailed across Arizona and New Mexico. Westerly wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph were common across eastern New Mexico.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............106 Laredo, TX

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..............102 Laredo, TX

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)...............18 Big Rapids, MI

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F).................8 Leadville, CO

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH)......................76 Frederick, OK

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES).............0.63 Riverton, WY

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1935, dust storms closed highways and schools across Iowa and Kansas.

The thick dust blocked out the sun for three days at Dodge City, KS.

In 1979, a deadly tornado struck Wichita Falls, TX, killing 43 people and causing $300 million damage.

In 1989, a late season arctic outbreak spread across the south central U.S. The temperature at Albuquerque plunged from 82 degrees to 29 degrees overnight. New record lows were reported in 33 cities across the central U.S., including a reading of 4 above at Goodland, KS.

DTN-Meteorlogix

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