The Nations Weather

Yesterday in the East, high pressure kept dry conditions across Northeast and Great Lakes Region. However, Tropical Storm Fay has continued to plague northern Florida, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the area. Official rainfall totals of 3 to 8 inches were common along the northern Florida coastline, but radar estimates have been higher, on the order of 10 to 20 inches. Melbourne, Florida was one town that saw the worst of the rain with an official report of 8.78 inches yesterday. Wind gusts of 35-45 mph were common occurred over northern Florida as well, with Cape Canaveral, Florida experiencing a wind gust of 54 mph yesterday evening. Fay moved very little during the last 24 hours, with the center of the tropical storm located approximately 35 miles southeast of Daytona Beach, Florida yesterday evening.

Across the central United States yesterday, dry conditions have been in place across the northern Plains, but showers and thunderstorms have impacted much of the southern Plains and Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley due to an upper-level low. Rainfall amounts of 1-3 inches were common across Arkansas, western Louisiana, and eastern Texas, but 3.88 inches of rain fell yesterday just northeast of Dallas, Texas. The low also generated scattered showers into Missouri, eastern Kansas, and Illinois yesterday evening, but rainfall totals in these areas were much lighter, generally half an inch or less.

In the West yesterday, a cold front pushed through the Pacific Northwest into western Montana, bringing showers to much of the area. Rainfall totals have generally ranged from 0.10 to 0.70 inches, but some areas on the Montana/Idaho border saw just under one inch of rain yesterday. Elsewhere, monsoonal moisture led to scattered thunderstorm development yesterday afternoon across central Colorado, New Mexico, and extreme southwest Texas. Some of these storms became severe, including one that produced a brief tornado in Arapahoe County in Colorado. Severe storms also produced golf ball sized hail near Clines Corners, New Mexico and in El Paso, Texas.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)............109 Gila Bend, AZ

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F).............109 Gila Bend, LA

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)..............34 Stanley, ID

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)...............29 Bryce Canyon, UT

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................54 Cape Canaveral, FL

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............8.78 Melbourne, FL

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1883, an F5 tornado struck Rochester, Minnesota, killing 30 people and injuring 200.

In 1983, the high temperature reached 110 degrees at Fayetteville, North Carolina, which was the highest temperature ever recorded in the state.

In 1984, a destructive hailstorm struck the state fair in Pueblo, Colorado, injuring nine people. The storm did $40 million in damage and broke 500 light bulbs.

DTN-Meteorlogix

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