The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

Across the east this weekend, warm air surged northward ahead of an approaching cold front. High temperatures reached into the seventies across much of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Fifties were felt as far north as Portland, ME, which had a high of 51. New record highs were set on the East Coast from South Carolina to Vermont. Charlotte, NC, recorded a new high of 74. Raleigh-Durham, NC, at 75 and Binghamton, NY with 46 were also new record highs. There were a few scattered snow showers across upstate New York, otherwise it was mostly quiet and mild across the East yesterday.

Active weather started moving into the central U.S. yesterday. A line of thunderstorms developed across New Mexico along a cold front. These thunderstorms produced hail up to 1 inch across portions of eastern NM. As the thunderstorms pushed into western TX, they started producing heavy rains and high winds. Wind gusts of 60-70 mph were reported in many locations across western TX yesterday evening. Storms downed power lines near Amarillo. To the north, showers developed across northwestern Nebraska and pushed northward across South Dakota and into North Dakota overnight. Freezing rain started to be reported across far northern and eastern ND as the rain encountered below freezing temperatures. More freezing rain is likely today across ND and northern MN.

Across the West, unsettled conditions continue to exist with an upper level area of low pressure circulating through California and the Four Corners. There were a few isolated thunderstorms in portions of Arizona which brought pea-size hail in East Mesa late yesterday morning. Another system pushed into northern CA with plenty of valley rains and higher elevation snows across the northern Sierras. A winter storm warning remains in effect across the southern Sierras this morning where 1 to 2 feet of snow could fall. Snow levels already running around 4500 feet will likely drop further to 3500 feet today. Across the Northwest, a few scattered showers dampened the Washington and Oregon coasts with some light snow across the northern Cascades.

WEATHER EXTREMES:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............91 Alice, TX

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..............91 Alice, TX

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)..............-7 Stanley, ID

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)..............-25 Frenchville, ME

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................70 Friona, TX

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............0.73 Lubbock, TX

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1933, the Riverside Ranger Station in Montana recorded a temperature of 66 below zero. This was a new record for the nation, which stood until 1954.

In 1987, a storm off the New England coast brought blizzard conditions across Massachusetts. Winds gusted to 80 mph and 23.4 inches of snow produced 8 foot snow drifts in the Cape Cod area.

In 1990, severe thunderstorms developed along a cold front moving across eastern Texas and Louisiana. Tennis-ball size hail caused more than a half-million dollars' damage around Shreveport, LA.

DTN-Meteorlogix/J Stephen

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