The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

Lake-effect snows started up again across the Great Lakes as a clipper system moved out of Canada. Locally heavy accumulations were reported in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as portions of northern Lower Michigan. Snowfall was already ranging in the 5 to 10 inch range across the Upper Peninsula, with visibilities dropping to under one-quarter of a mile close to the Lake Superior shoreline. Snow near Pike Lake, Michigan, totaled nearly 10 inches in just under 12 hours. Lake-effect snow near Lake Ontario and Lake Erie had just started to form in the early overnight hours, with accumulations under 1 inch for all points. The lake-effect machine is anticipated to shift gears to overdrive on Thursday with localized snowfall amounts over 2 inches possible. Isolated light snows were also reported across the northern Plains and into the High Plains as a cold front dove south. Snowfall was generally reported as light. Winds were gusty across the same area, as well as into portions of Wyoming with gusts to 35 mph.

Record morning lows were the other weather story on Thursday with numerous new records set across the Gulf States. Tallahassee, Florida dropped all the way to 25, shattering the old record of 29 set back in 1990. Athens, Georgia set a new record falling to 20 degrees Wednesday morning, with Macon, Georgia tying the old record of 24 degrees. But those temperatures are just a taste of what is to come as an Arctic front dives down the Plains and cold air pushes nearly all the way through the Gulf of Mexico.

WEATHER EXTREMES SO FAR TODAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............90 Imperial, CA

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..............84 Palm Springs, CA

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)...............1 Saranac Lake, NY

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)...............-1 Greenville, ME

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................48 Copper Harbor, MI

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............0.10 Fulton, NY

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1869, a the second great windstorm in three days struck Vermont and New York, blowing railroad trains off their tracks.

In 1914, the high temperature of Atlanta, Georgia was 28 degrees. It is the earliest daily high below the freezing mark.

In 1979, a blizzard dumped 19.8 inches of snow in 24 hours across Cheyenne, WY. A record 25.6 inches was reported in 40 hours.

DTN-Meteorlogix

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