The Nation's Weather

Associated Press - August 6, 2008 6:13 AM ET

National Weather Summary for Wednesday, August 06, 2008

NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:

In the East, a frontal system produced scattered showers and thunderstorms across portions of the Great Lakes during the afternoon and evening hours. Most of these storms were not severe, but an isolated storm or two became strong. Large hail was reported near Holly, Michigan. Meanwhile, isolated showers and thunderstorms developed across portions of Massachusetts during the late afternoon hours. These sat in place and dumped 2 to as much as 4 inches of rain in a short time. Further south, widely scattered showers and thunderstorms developed across the Southeast and Florida during the afternoon. These storms fell apart quickly in the evening. No strong storms occurred and locally heavy downpours were the main impact.

In the central United States, a complex of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across the Mid-Mississippi Valley during the late afternoon and surged southeastward during the evening. Some of these storms were severe, leaving a path of damage. The main impact was from straight line winds, although large hail and a possible tornado were thrown into the mix. Strong winds caused structural damage at a Middle School in Winfield, Missouri. A large tree was blown into the roof of a house in Greenville, Illinois. Several locations in Missouri and southern Illinois experienced tree and power line damage with scattered power outages. To the south, Tropical storm Edouard has weakened into a tropical depression during the afternoon. However, it continued to produce soaking rains across much of southern Texas. For instance, 2.7 inches of rain fell in Anahuac, Texas. To the north, scattered showers and thunderstorms developed late in the day across portions of the northern and central High Plains. A few of these storms became severe, also. Golf Ball sized hail fell in Ashland, Montana and northwest of Potosi, Montana. Golf Ball sized hail also littered the landscape near Devils Tower, Wyoming. Several locations received wind gusts to 60-70 mile per hour, bringing down trees and power lines in spots. Outside of the storms, extreme heat continued to plague portions of the southern Plains.

Highs surged well above 100 once again across much of southern Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and northern Texas.

In the West, monsoon moisture produced scattered showers and thunderstorms across the central and southern Rockies, the Desert Southwest, and the Great Basin. Locally heavy rain led to isolated areas of flash flooding in some locations. Quiet weather was common across the remainder of the West with warmer than normal temperatures.

WEATHER EXTREMES FOR YESTERDAY:

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)............119 Death Valley, CA

HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F).............119 Death Valley, CA

LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)..............31 Wisdom, MT

LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)...............22 Hoopa, CA

HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................80 Xenia, IL

HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............4.40 Wheatfield, IN

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:

In 1890, thunderstorms left four inches of hail covering the ground in Adair and Union Counties in Iowa. The hail drifted into six foot mounds in spots and remained on the ground for 26 days in some locations.

In 1959, a bucket survey showed that thunderstorms dropped 16.70 inches of rain on parts of Decatur County, Iowa. The total was accepted as Iowas 24 hour rainfall record.

In 1986, evening thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 100 mile per hour at Winner, South Dakota. This caused damage to 200 homes.

DTN-Meteorlogix/N Hamblin

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