The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

Across the east, an area of low pressure situated just off Long Island, New York was responsible for rain and snow across the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England early in the day. Reported snowfall in upstate New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts ranged from one to five inches. Rainfall totals trended from one quarter to one half inch. There were some isolated thunderstorms across the Mid-Atlantic which produced higher rainfall amounts. Most of the precipitation pushed off the northeastern coast by late afternoon with cloudy conditions hanging on across the Northeast through the night. A wind advisory was in effect for portions of the Mid-Atlantic on the backside of this storm system. Gusts across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey ranged from 25-50 mph at times. Philadelphia airport reported a 40 mph wind gust. Dry and mild conditions were found across the southeast where record high temperatures were reported across Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. In the central portion of the nation, low pressure developing over the Western Plains was spawning showers and thunderstorms across portions of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. No storms were severe as of this writing and rainfall amounts were generally one to two tenths of an inch. Otherwise, skies were cloudy in the northeast, mainly cloudy in the south-central and mainly sunny in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Across the western third of the nation, a cold Pacific storm system slowly moved south across northern Utah yesterday. Bands of heavy snow developed across the Cache Valley and northern Wasatch front. This system began to surge south Monday afternoon, bringing accumulating snowfall across northern Utah. Salt Lake City picked up less than an inch, however, portions of the northern Wasatch Mountains picked up over a foot of snow. Paradise, UT reported 25 inches of snow. Winds were also a problem across this area. Wind gusts of 50 to 75 mph were reported. a strong storm system was continuing to dig into the Mountain West region this morning. This storm was producing snow along a frontal boundary extending from the high western Plains and Northern Rockies back across the Wasatch and Great Basin regions. Snow totals have not been reported yet however various winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories are in effect across many areas of this region. Behind this front, temperatures have plummeted as a large pocket of Arctic air has slid into portions of the Inland Northwest. Wind chill advisories and warnings are in place for readings of 20 to 30 degrees below zero. Wind advisories are in effect for the Desert Southwest today as gusts this morning have varied from 30-40 mph at times. Sky cover this morning was thick across the Northwestern states in response to the developing storm system. Otherwise, mainly sunny skies found across the Southwest, except for the typical low clouds and fog across the California coastal valleys.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............92 Cotulla, TX

.............................................. Laredo, TX

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..............92 Laredo, TX

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............-17 St. Mary, MT

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)..............-34 Williston, ND

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................63 Mammoth Lakes, CA

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............1.14 Pradise, UT

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1922, a record 24 hour snow total of 17.5 inches fell over Dodge City, KS.

In 1948, a late winter cold wave spreads across the Northern Plains. Itasca, MN reported a temperature of -44.

In 1989, unseasonably warm temperatures spread across the central and southwestern U.S. Hanksville, UT recorded a new record high for March of 85 degrees. In all, thirty-four cities reported new record high temperatures for the date. DTN-Meteorlogix/J Stephen

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