The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

In the East, a strong low pressure system produced everything from severe weather to a wintery mix of rain, freezing rain and snow to many locations. Scattered showers and strong to severe thunderstorms developed across Florida and coastal locations of the southern Atlantic coast. There was one report of a tornado near Celebration, Florida that caused minor damage to a vehicle. There were also a few other reports of strong thunderstorm wind gusts the caused minor damage to homes, trees and power lines across central Florida. Further north, rain showers affected the Mid-Atlantic, the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, and southern portions of the Northeast. Rainfall amounts ranged from 0.35 inches to over 2 inches. The heaviest rain occurred in Virginia with 2.64 inches of rain reported in Rockbridge County; and Henry County receiving 1.92 inches of rain. A wintery mix of rain, freezing rain and snow affected the Great Lakes region and the rest of the Northeast. No ice accumulations were reported, but 5.5 inches of new snow did accumulate at Montrose, Michigan.

Across the central part of the country, widely scattered snow showers fell across the Upper Midwest, the Middle Mississippi Valley, and portions of the northern and central Plains. The heaviest snowfall occurred across Wisconsin and Illinois. Mindoro, Wisconsin received 5.8 inches of new snow; and 4.2 inches of snow accumulated at De Kalb, Illinois. Further south, mostly cloudy skies, scattered light rain showers, and below normal temperatures were experienced across the southern Plains and portions of the Lower Mississippi Valley as an upper-level trough moved into the area.

In the West, snow showers affected portions of Wyoming and Colorado as they sat on the back side of an upper-level trough. Very heavy snowfall fell just south of the Palmer Divide, along the Interstate 25 corridor. Black Forest, Colorado received 21 inches of new snow, and 17.8 inches fell at Monument, Colorado. Elsewhere, areas of dense fog made for gloomy conditions across central California and portions of the Pacific Northwest. Otherwise, a pronounced ridge of high pressure brought mostly sunny skies and dry conditions to the rest of the West.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............87 Thermal, CA

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..............90 Key West, FL

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)...............1 Willow Grove, PA

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)..............-20 Willow Grove, PA

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................64 Akron, CO

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............2.64 Rockbridge County, VA

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1896, the temperature at Kipp, Montana rose 30 degrees in just seven minutes, and then 80 degrees in a matter of a few hours. A thirty-inch snow cover was melted in a half of a day.

In 1913, this was the start of a six day snow storm that brought a total of 46 inches of snow to Denver, Colorado.

In 1987, a very strong low pressure system hit the Pacific Coast, producing a wind gust of 80 mph at Cape Disappointment, Washington. Thunderstorms in western Washington produced a wind gust of 60 mph and dime size hail at Hoquiam, Washington. Another wind gust of 94 mph was reported at Cape Blanco, Oregon.

DTN-Meteorlogix

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.