Friday Daily Weather Summary

ONLINE DAILY WEATHER SUMMARY

Friday, 16 April 1999

TORNADO OUTBREAK ACROSS THE SOUTH
UNSETTLED WEATHER MOVES ACROSS THE MIDWEST
HOT WEATHER CONTINUES ACROSS FLORIDA
A CHANGE IN THE WEST
UPPER AIR
YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48
ALASKAN WEATHER
HAWAIIAN WEATHER
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING
HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS

TORNADO OUTBREAK ACROSS THE SOUTH -- Severe thunderstorms along and ahead of an active cold front spawned tornadoes across the South starting late Wednesday night in Mississippi and continuing through Thursday evening in North Carolina. A tornado caused one fatality, 30 injuries and considerable damage in southern Mississippi approximately 30 miles north of Hattiesburg late Wednesday night. In Georgia, at least 30 injuries were sustained, and extensive damage caused as tornadoes hit Vienna, approximately 50 miles south of Macon and in Meter (approximately 60 miles west of Savannah), where 2 people were injured with several mobile homes destroyed. One or more tornadoes moving across North Carolina caused 1 death and at least 10 injuries south of Fayetteville on Thursday evening. Non-tornadic thunderstorm winds also caused damage across the South. A woman was killed Wednesday night as a tree was blown into her mobile home in west Tennessee near Jackson. By late Thursday night, most of the thunderstorms had either dissipated or moved off the North Carolina coast, where a slight risk of severe thunderstorms continues until after sunrise on Friday.

UNSETTLED WEATHER MOVES ACROSS THE MIDWEST -- Thursday's tornado outbreak was in association with a spring storm that moved slowly toward the northeastward into the Midwest, after having been situated over Arkansas on Wednesday. As of Thursday night, the low pressure center was located over central Illinois, with an occluded front that curved eastward to a point of occlusion situated in western North Carolina. At this triple point, a warm front extended to the east toward Hampton Roads, VA, while a cold front extended southward, crossing out over the central Florida Panhandle into the Gulf of Mexico.

Thunderstorms continued across the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the warm sector between the warm and cold front. A widespread band of precipitation extended from north of the warm front off the New Jersey coast westward to the northwest quadrant of the low over Iowa and Minnesota. Substantial rainfall was reported, with several inches of rain falling between Kansas City and Omaha by Thursday morning. Some snow was reported across Nebraska. The heavy rains have caused numerous rivers to reach flood stage across Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

Strong winds continued to circulate around the western flank of the storm were the pressure gradient was the strongest. Wind gusts to 50 mph were common across portions of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Cold air advection resulted as cold air was transferred into the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley as a result of these northerly winds.

This storm system is expected to continue occluding overnight, with a new secondary low forming at the point of occlusion. The primary low is expected to slowly weaken as it moves toward Lake Michigan by Friday morning. The secondary low is expected to intensify as it moves out to sea along the Middle Atlantic coast. The precipitation shield should continue across a large portion of the Middle Atlantic states, extending westward across the southern Great Lakes to the Mississippi Valley.

HOT WEATHER CONTINUES ACROSS FLORIDA -- The lack of rain and the sunny skies across the Sunshine State contributed to another day of record high temperatures and little relief from the serious drought conditions. Record high temperatures were set on Thursday at Melbourne (97 degrees), Orlando (95 degrees), Daytona Beach (94 degrees), West Palm Beach (93 degrees) and Fort Lauderdale (91 degrees). The Melbourne reading also tied the record for the highest April temperature. Some hope for thunderstorms accompanying the cold front that is expected to move southward overnight is tempered by the concern that lightning could touch off wildfires.

A CHANGE IN THE WEST -- Only last week much of the West Coast was experiencing unseasonably cool weather, with some locations having record low temperatures. The presence of a large ridge of high pressure located along the northern Rockies has brought about warm afternoons with some record high temperatures. As of Thursday night, the ridge was centered along an axis that extended from southern British Columbia to southern Colorado. A strong offshore wind flow, together with sunny skies, contributed to record high temperatures in California at Oakland/Downtown (84 degrees) and Downtown San Francisco (84 degrees), Crescent City (81 degrees), Eureka (73 degrees). In Oregon, maximum temperature records were set at Florence (85 degrees), Astoria (77) and Tillamook (76 degree. In Washington State, records were exceeded at Hoquiam (75 degrees), Seattle (74 degrees).

However, to the east of the ridge axis, northerly winds have maintained cool conditions. At Laramie, the temperature only reached 24 degrees, setting a record low maximum temperature for the date. Freeze warnings were posted for western portions of Oklahoma and Kansas for Thursday night.

The ridge of high pressure is expected to remain entrenched over the West into Friday. Wind advisories were posted for strong Santa Ana winds near Cajon Pass in southern California.

UPPER AIR -- The 500 mb constant pressure chart for 00Z Friday shows a large trough of low heights across the Plains. This trough is associated with the surface low pressure over the Mississippi Valley. In particular, the air is cooler in the intervening column from the earth's surface up to the 500 mb surface that is located to the west of the surface low, thereby producing a lower height in the pressure surface. A large height ridge was building along the West Coast as that region begins to warm. A ridge is also found along the East Coast.

The same pattern is reflected in the topography of the 300 mb surface in the upper troposphere. The jet stream at that level shows strong northerly winds with speed exceeding 100 knots over the Rockies, which then become westerly around the base of the trough across the southern Plains.

YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48 -- The lowest temperature on Thursday was 5 degrees at West Yellowstone, MT, while the day's high was 97 degrees at Melbourne, FL.

ALASKAN WEATHER -- A large area of low pressure with several centers was located over the state on Thursday. One low was located over the Seward Peninsula, while the other low was situated just to the south of the Kenai Peninsula. Farther west, a strong storm system moving across the central Bering Sea was accompanied by a front that moved eastward along the central Aleutians. Heavy rain continued across the southeast and through the northern Panhandle, with Yakutat receiving 1.87 inches of rain between midnight and mid afternoon on Thursday. Juneau and Cordova also had over an inch of precipitation. Kotzebue, Wainwright, Iliamna and Saint Paul reported snow.

Farther to the southeast, high pressure across western Canada stretched to the southern tip of the Panhandle. A strong pressure gradient surrounding the storm system in the Bering Sea produced strong winds. Wind gusts along the Aleutians and over the Pribilofs reached 50 mph producing blowing snow, which reduced visibility to 0.25 miles at Cold Bay and the Pribilofs. As a result, a blizzard warning remained in effect for Cold Bay and vicinity, while a winter storm advisory continued for the Pribilofs.

The statewide lowest overnight temperature on Thursday was 15 degrees below zero at Nuiqsut and Ugnu Kuparuk. The highest midafternoon temperature in Alaska was 55 degrees at Annette.

HAWAIIAN WEATHER -- An eastward passing ridge of high pressure to the north of Hawaii maintained moderate trade winds across the islands on Thursday. Sinking motion associated with this ridge over the islands produced nearly cloudless skies over all but Maui and the Big Island. An increased chance of showers is expected by Saturday as a trough of low pressure approaches the islands.

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING -- Since the new moon was today (Friday 16 April) at 0422 Z, the first visibility of the new moon on Saturday will initiate the Muslim new year 1420 A.H. Islam's calendar is closely tied to the moon.

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 16 April

From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast

...1849...A severe freeze from Georgia to Texas killed cotton, and snow lay on the ground at Charleston, SC. (Intellicast)
...1851...The famous "Lighthouse Storm" raged near Boston Harbor. Whole gales and gigantic waves destroyed Minot Light at Cohasset, MA with the loss of its two keepers still inside. The storm resulted in massive tidal flooding, great shipping losses and coastal erosion. (David Ludlum)
...1880...A tornado near Marshall, MO carried the heavy timbers of an entire home a distance of twelve miles. (The Weather Channel)
...1933...Franklin Lake, NH was buried under 35 inches of snow. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
...1944...An F4 tornado tracked 40 miles through Franklin, Hart, and Elbert counties in Georgia and through Anderson and Abbeville counties in South Carolina. Twenty five were killed and 120 were injured. Damage totaled $1 million. (Intellicast)
...1960...A wind gust of 70 mph was measured at the Stapleton International Airport in Denver, CO, their highest wind gust of record. (The Weather Channel)
...1975...A single storm brought 119 inches of snow to Crater Lake, OR, establishing a state record. (Intellicast)
...1987...A slow moving storm system produced heavy rain over North Carolina and the Middle Atlantic Coast States. More than six inches of rain drenched parts of Virginia, and flooding in Virginia claimed three lives. Floodwaters along the James River inundated parts of Richmond, VA. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...A storm in the northeastern U.S. produced a foot of snow at Pittsburg, VT. Severe thunderstorms produced baseball size hail and spawned five tornadoes in the Southern High Plains Region. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...A cold front, ushering sharply colder air into the north central U.S., brought snow to parts of Montana and North Dakota. At midday the temperature at Cutbank, MT was just 22 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1990...Thunderstorms developing along a stationary front produced large hail and damaging winds across Oklahoma, with 99 reports of large hail and damaging winds during the evening and early nighttime hours. Thunderstorms produced baseball size hail south of Carney, and wind gusts to 100 mph in the Oklahoma City area which swept away many Federal tax returns being transported from a mail cart to a waiting truck about the time of the midnight deadline. Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City reported a record wind gust of 92 mph. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

17 April

...1922...A family of at least six tornadoes caused death and destruction along parts of a 210 mile path from north of Ogden, IL to Allen County, OH, killing at least 20 persons. A post card, picked up in Madison County, IN by an F-4 tornado, was found 124 miles away near Mount Cory, OH. (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
...1942...A deluge of 8.35 inches in two hours dampened West Palm Beach, FL. (Intellicast)
...1953...One of the few severe hailstorms accompanied by snow, sleet, glaze, and rain, pelted parts of Kay, Osage, Creek, Tulsa, Washington, and Rogers Counties in northeastern Oklahoma late in the day. Nearly 10,000 insurance claims were filed. (The Weather Channel)
...1965...The Mississippi River reached a flood crest at Saint Paul, MN four feet higher than any previous mark. During the next two weeks record levels were reached along the upper Mississippi between Saint Paul and Hannibal, MO. Flooding caused more than 100 million dollars damage, but timely warnings kept the death toll down to just twelve persons. (David Ludlum)
...1983...A very late snowfall occurred in a narrow band across central Iowa with Des Moines recording 8 inches -- a record for the month of April. (Intellicast)
...1987...Twenty-two cities in the central U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date. Temperatures warmed into the 70s and 80s from the High Plains Region to the Mississippi Valley, with readings in the low 90s reported in the Southern Plains Region. Tulsa, OK hit 92 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...Heavy snow blanketed northern Arizona. Snowfall totals ranged up to 16 inches at Pinetop, with 10 inches reported at Flagstaff. Afternoon thunderstorms spawned a couple of tornadoes in Idaho. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Arctic cold invaded the north central U.S. Missoula, MT was blanketed with four inches of snow, and Glasgow, MT reported a record cold morning low of 14 degrees above zero. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1990...High winds in northern Utah, gusting to 90 mph in Weber County, blew a trampoline through a living room window, and strong winds associated with a cold front crossing the Middle Atlantic Coast Region gusted to 75 mph in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. Unseasonably cold weather prevailed in the north central U.S. Valentine, NE was the cold spot in the nation with a record low of 10 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

18 April

...1880...A major tornado outbreak occurred from Kansas and Arkansas to Wisconsin and Michigan with 22 tornadoes rated F2 or greater. Three F4 tornadoes in Missouri caused most of the deaths, with 68 people killed at Marshfield, MO. Another F4 tornado in Missouri was on the ground for 93 miles. In this outbreak, 165 people were killed and over 500 were injured. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
...1896...New York City had their earliest 90 degree reading of the season. (Intellicast)
...1906...A severe earthquake shook San Francisco, and unusual easterly winds drove flames westward through the city destroying the city rather than confining the fires to the downtown harbor area. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
...1944...California experienced its worst hailstorm of record. Damage mounted to two million dollars as two consecutive storms devastated the Sacramento Valley destroying the fruit crop. (The Weather Channel)
...1957...A dust devil near Dracut, MA lifted a small child three feet into the air, and rolled two other children on the ground. Fortunately none of the three were hurt. The dust devil was accompanied by a loud whistling sound as it moved westward. (The Weather Channel)
...1970...Rapid City, SD received a record 22 inches of snow in 24 hours. (17th-18th) (The Weather Channel)
A violent tornado (F4) at Clarendon, TX drove a piece of wood into a 1.5 inch thick iron gate frame. (Intellicast)
...1987...Thirty-one cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including International Falls, MN with a reading of 88 degrees, and Bismarck, ND with a high of 92 degrees. A sharp cold front produced high winds in the western U.S. Winds in Utah gusted to 99 mph at the Park City Angle Station, and capsized a boat on Utah Lake drowning four persons. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds in the southeastern U.S. A strong (F-2) tornado severely damaged seventeen mobile homes near Bainbridge, GA injuring three persons. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. A thunderstorm in Pecos County of southwest Texas produced wind gusts to 90 mph at Imperial. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1990...Heavy snow blanketed the west central valleys and southwest mountains of Colorado with up to 18 inches of snow. Nine cities from the Mid Mississippi Valley to the Middle Atlantic Coast Region reported record low temperatures for the date, including Fort Wayne, IN with a reading of 23 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1996...Twenty seven inches of snow over the last three days from an upper level low pressure system raised the snow cover on top of Mount Mansfield, VT to an impressive late season 135 inches. (Intellicast)