The Nation's Weather

AP-The Nation's Weather National Weather Summary for Wednesday, October 01, 2008

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

In the East, scattered showers and thunderstorms pushed across portions of the Mid-Atlantic and the Carolinas during the late afternoon and evening hours. A few of these storms became strong to severe. The main impact was large hail, but a few isolated instances of damaging winds occurred. A severe storm produced golf ball sized hail and gusty winds in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Trees were blown over by the gusty winds. Golf ball sized hail occurred in Statesville, North Carolina. Gusty winds blew down trees near Garysburg, North Carolina. Meanwhile, widely scattered showers and thunderstorms impacted the Great Lakes and the northern Ohio Valley. No strong storms occurred. Rain totals were mostly a half an inch or less. However, 0.73 inches of rain fell in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Further south, scattered showers and thunderstorms impacted southern Florida during the afternoon and evening.

Locally heavy rain occurred. Heavy rain totaled 2.56 inches in Marathon, Florida. A few other locations received over an inch of rain. Elsewhere, dry and mild conditions occurred across the Tennessee Valley and the Gulf Coast.

Weather conditions were more benign across the western two thirds of the country. High pressure brought partly cloudy skies with dry conditions to the Great Plains and the Mississippi Valley. However, a few isolated showers and thunderstorms erupted during the afternoon and early evening across portions of the Great Basin. These storms were not strong and rainfall totals were a quarter of an inch or less. Meanwhile, offshore flow brought record breaking heat to southern California. The high of 102 degrees in Fullerton, California broke the old record of 100 degrees, set in 1980. Santa Ana, California saw the mercury surge to 101 degrees, besting the old record of 99 degrees, set in 1952. Unseasonably warm temperatures and dry conditions also occurred across the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies. A couple isolated locations tied or broke records for the date. Elsewhere, dry and warm conditions were common across the central and southern Rockies, along with the Desert Southwest.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)............108 Death Valley, CA

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F).............108 Death Valley, CA

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)..............27 Lake Yellowstone, WY

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)...............22 Duluth, MN

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................47 Winnemucca, NV

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............2.56 Marathon, FL ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1893, the second great hurricane of the 1893 season hit the Mississippi Delta Region, drowning more than 1000 people.

In 1987, a blast of cold arctic air hit the north-central United States. An afternoon thunderstorm produced hail and snow in Duluth, Minnesota. Later in the afternoon, strong northerly winds reached 70 mph.

In 1988, severe thunderstorms impacted portions of the Southeast during the afternoon and evening hours. Eleven tornadoes were spawned from the thunderstorms, with 7 of those in Georgia. A tornado, southwest of Moultrie, Georgia, killed two people and injured a dozen others. Tornadoes also injured one person north of Graceville, Florida and two people at Bartow, Georgia. DTN-Meteorlogix/N Hamblin

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