The Nations Weather

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

The remnants of Tropical Depression Fay continued to bring widespread showers and embedded thunderstorms to the Gulf Coast, most of the Southeast, and the eastern Tennessee Valley. This brought a large swath of heavy rainfall amounts, generally in the 1 to 3 inch range, with locally higher totals. Also, isolated tornadoes were embedded in the activity. A tornado reportedly blew down trees and tore a tin roof from a residence in Colquitt, Georgia. Areas of tree damage occurred across portions of eastern Alabama. Buildings took some structural damage near Dearmanville, Alabama. Flash flooding resulted in 2 feet of standing water in the streets in Irmo, South Carolina. Meanwhile, widely scattered showers and thunderstorms pushed off the New England coastline by early afternoon. Conditions dried out thereafter. Elsewhere, high pressure brought generally clear skies with cool conditions to the Great Lakes and the remainder of the Northeast.

In the central United States, scattered showers and thunderstorms occurred across portions of Texas, mainly during the afternoon and evening. Activity settled down after midnight. No strong storms occurred and rainfall totals were generally under 0.50 inches. To the north, isolated showers and thunderstorms pushed into the central High Plains during the evening hours. A couple of storms became strong to severe. Golf Ball sized hail fell in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Winds gusted to 60 miles per hour in a rural area north of Otis, Colorado. Elsewhere, high pressure brought partly cloudy skies with dry conditions to the rest of the central Plains, the northern Plains and the Upper Midwest.

In the West, scattered showers and thunderstorms developed across the central and southern Rockies, the eastern Great Basin, and the Desert Southwest. These storms became organized across central and southern Arizona during the afternoon. Winds gusted to 67 miles per hour in Chandler, Arizona. This overturned planes at the Chandler Airport. Gusty winds blew up dust, lowering visibilities to under a quarter of a mile in Queen Creek, Arizona. Locally heavy rainfall was the main impact from most of the other storms in the region. A few isolated thunderstorms impacted portions of Southern California. Gusty winds blew down power lines in Hesperia, California. To the north, a cold front brought scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms to the Pacific Northwest and into the northern Rockies. Further east, unseasonably hot temperatures broke out across eastern Montana. Highs surged well into the 90s and lower 100s. In fact, Lewistown, Montana surged to 99 degrees, breaking the old record of 98, set in 1926.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)............121 Death Valley, CA

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F).............121 Death Valley, CA

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)..............27 Embarrass, MN

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)...............10 Eagleville, CA

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................67 Chandler, AZ

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............5.43 Mobile, AL

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1965, late night severe thunderstorms along an unusually strong cold front produced straight line winds of 100 miles per hour in the Chicago, Illinois Metropolitan Area. In Lake County, Indiana, high winds derailed a train and left a canoe suspended among telephone lines near Crown Point, Indiana.

In 1988, a dozen cities in Texas, Colorado, and California reported record high temperatures for the date. Highs reached 100 degrees in Pueblo, Colorado, 106 degrees at Wichita Falls, Texas, and 109 degrees in Redding, California.

In 1988, afternoon thunderstorms in Utah deluged the town of Beaver with more than an inch of rain in 20 minutes, resulting in flash flooding.

DTN-Meteorlogix/N Hamblin

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