The Nations Weather

<EM>Associated Press - March 5, 2009 5:03 AM ET </EM>NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY: It was a cold start to the day across the eastern U.S. with record low temperatures from Georgia to New York.

Thursday, March 5th 2009, 6:14 am

By: News On 6


NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

It was a cold start to the day across the eastern U.S. with record low temperatures from Georgia to New York. The deep snow cover left behind by the most recent snowstorm combined with an Arctic air mass contributed to records that included Richmond, Virginia which fell to not only its coldest temperature for the date at 10 degrees but also it was its coldest temperature ever in the month of March. Notable record low temperatures also included 3 degrees in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 5 degrees in Islip, New York and it was a cold morning in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where they bottomed out at 21 degrees shattering the previous coldest reading there for the date by 6 degrees. Savannah, Georgia checked in with 26, also a new record low for them. Dry conditions were found over most areas with just a few snow showers occurring over portions of Upstate New York.

In the western half of the country, an upper level disturbance continued to send very heavy snow over the higher elevations of the Sierras and Great Basin. Since the start of the week there has been up to 6 feet of snow above 8,000 feet in the Sierras of California. Snow also spread across northern portions of Nevada and into Idaho and western Wyoming where up to 15 inches have fallen in Yellowstone National Park. Rain showers across Utah changed over to snow by evening across most areas. Salt Lake City was receiving snow overnight, after setting a record high yesterday of 52. They may pick up 1 to 3 inches this morning while some higher elevations will likely see 4 or more inches. Snow also begin to intensify overnight across the Cascades where snow levels fell to around 2000 feet. Up to 12 inches of snow may fall this morning and through the afternoon. In the lower elevations rain has been occurring over northern and central California with amounts generally around a quarter of an inch to half an inch. To the east and south of this storm, strong winds have pumped unseasonably mild air across the Four Corners region and into the northern High Plains. The Grand Canyon reported wind gusts to 45 mph. Winds have been as strong as 61 mph in Buffalo, Wyoming with sustained winds in that area over 40 mph. Nine locations across northern and central New Mexico reported record highs. Record highs were also recorded yesterday across Colorado, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............92 Gage, OK

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..............88 Gage, OK

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............-28 Clayton Lake, ME

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)..............-28 Clayton Lake, ME

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................61 Buffalo, WY

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............0.47 San Jose, CA

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY: In 1960, eastern Massachusetts was hit with its greatest March snow storm on record. The storm produced record 24 hour snowfall totals of 17.7 inches at Worcester and 16.6 inches at Boston. Winds were gusting to 70 mph, effectively shutting down travel in the area. In 1987, six inches of rain soaked the San Francisco Bay area in 24 hours. In 1990, strong thunderstorms produced up to three inches of small hail around Colorado Springs, CO. These storms also produced wind gusts to 50 mph and as much as 2.4 inches of rain.

DTN-Meteorlogix

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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