The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

In the east, a low pressure system brought areas of snow across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and the Northeast on Tuesday. Snow amounts ranged from 2-5 inches in parts of Michigan, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and western New York. Light snow could also be found across New England during the late evening hours as the system pushed out of the Northeast. Across the Southeast, rain fell behind a cold front that shifted south-southeast during the day across Florida. The heaviest amounts were recorded across northern Florida and southeastern Georgia with amounts ranging from a quarter to a half an inch of rain with isolated areas higher than that. Quiet conditions were in store for this area behind the front during the evening and overnight hours.

In the central United States, an Alberta Clipper shifted through the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Iowa on Tuesday bringing more snow to this area. The heaviest band of snow was found from North Dakota to southwestern Minnesota and into central Iowa where 3-5 inches of new snow fell. With bitter cold temperatures already in place, winds became an issue bringing wind chills of -40F to -60F across North Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, and northern Iowa. This system continued to shift south-southeast during the night into Illinois and Indiana where another 2-4 inches are expected.

In the west, isolated areas of snow fell throughout the day across portions of the northern Rockies. Otherwise, high pressure dominated the western states on Tuesday. Wind gusts of 40-50 mph were recorded across areas of southern California with Santa Ana winds still in place. Above average temperatures were in store for Tuesday across much of the West Coast and many new records were set including one from Newport Beach, Calif., where it reached 83F on Tuesday breaking the old record of 81F set in 1948.

WEATHER EXTREMES YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............88 Santa Ana, CA

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..............86 Marathon, FL

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............-43 Embarrass, MN

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)..............-62 Rochester, MN

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................68 Albany, WY

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............1.33 Gainesville, FL

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1831, the greatest snowstorm recorded in American history until this time occurred from Georgia to the northeast and west to the Ohio Valley. Gettysburg, Penn. had 30 inches and Pittsburgh recorded 22 inches.

In 1979, Chicago, Ill. was buried under 20.7 inches of snow in just 30 hours. The storm would go down as the second heaviest snow in the city's history. The snow cover after the storm was 29 inches, a modern day record for the Windy City.

In 1988, a strong frontal system caused the highest winds ever recorded in the Reno, Nev. area with a gust to 90 mph at the International Airport.

DTN-Meteorlogix/A Felber

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