Friday Daily Weather Summary

ONLINE DAILY WEATHER SUMMARY

Friday, 23 April 1999

WET WEATHER ACROSS THE MIDWEST
SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS THE PLAINS
SNOW ACROSS THE ROCKIES
UPPER AIR
YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48
ALASKAN WEATHER
HAWAIIAN WEATHER
HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS

WET WEATHER ACROSS THE MIDWEST -- A large area of steady rain and imbedded thunderstorms remained relatively stationary across the Midwest on Thursday night. This precipitation was along and north of a serpentine stationary font that stretched westward from the New Jersey coast to a weak low in western Illinois, before curving south to north Texas and then continuing westward into a region of weak low pressure over the New Mexico and Arizona.

This stationary front separated warm and humid air on the south side of the front from cooler air to the north. An impressive temperature difference could be found across the front. Thursday's high temperature at Dubuque, IA was 49 degrees, while roughly 80 miles to the south the Quad Cities had a high of 75 degrees. In addition, surface winds were southerly across the lower and mid-Mississippi Valleys. To the north of the front easterly to northwesterly winds were found across the Great Lakes.

Some locations had between one to two inches of rain during the previous 24 hours as one cell after the next repeatedly moved across the same area. As a result, many rivers across Iowa and Illinois had reached flood stage. While most of the thunderstorms to the north of the front were not severe, some to the south of the front did turn severe. Severe thunderstorms moved across western Illinois, producing large hail and spawning a tornado near Galesburg. Earlier on Thursday morning, thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds moved across Pennsylvania.

The front should remain relatively stationary through Friday morning. The rain should continue across the Great Lakes into the Northeast. However, a weak low pressure center may continue its eastward movement along the front, causing some local intensification of the precipitation shield.

SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS THE PLAINS -- Farther south in the along the front in the southern Plains, severe thunderstorms moved across Oklahoma and Missouri on Thursday night. Possible tornadoes were detected by Doppler radar. During the daytime, thunderstorms developed over the Plains and moved northeastward, producing large hail across Oklahoma and Kansas. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 70 mph in southwest Missouri. Flash flood warnings were also in effect for various rivers in Oklahoma and Missouri.

The nearly stationary front is forecast to remain over the southern Plains into Friday morning. The risk of severe thunderstorms is anticipated to remain across the Plains from the Red River Valley of north Texas into the Ohio Valley for most of Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, the temperature at Houston (Intercontinental), TX reached a record tying 88 degrees/

SNOW ACROSS THE ROCKIES -- A region of low pressure along with a front that essentially parallels the Continental Divide was situated over the Colorado Rockies. To the east, several large areas of precipitation were found across Colorado and Wyoming. Snow fell at the higher elevations, while rain fell at lower levels. Some locations in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming reported snowfall totals of at least 20 inches, while the airport at Denver out on the Plains received about 4 inches.

A significant portion of this snow was upslope snow, resulting from the lifting of the easterly winds that moved across the Plains toward the Front Range of the Rockies.

The snow across the Rockies should continue into Friday morning as another low pressure system is forecast to be located close to the Four Corners. Winter storm warnings were continued through Friday for the Wind River and the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming, while winter advisories were to be in effect for the Snowy Range. In Colorado, winter storm warnings continued for the mountains, while snow and blowing snow advisories remained for some of the lower elevations to the east. Snow advisories were posted for the Mogollon Rim of northern Arizona for as much as 6 inches of new snow. A high wind warning was issued for the Wasatch Front in Utah for east winds gusting to 75 mph on Friday.

UPPER AIR -- The 500 mb mid-tropospheric and the 300 mb upper tropospheric charts for 00 Z Friday showed that the western storm was associated with a cold pool of air over the Great Basin extended from the surface up to at least the 300 mb constant pressure surface. A distinct counterclockwise or cyclonic circulation regime appears around this trough in the height field.

The jet streak of winds exceeding 100 knots at 300 mb over the central Plains appears to contribute to the explosive development of the severe thunderstorms early Thursday evening.

YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48 -- The lowest temperature on Thursday was 16 degrees at Stanley, ID. Thursday's high was 102 degrees at Laredo, TX.

ALASKAN WEATHER -- A large storm system moved into the central Gulf of Alaska on Thursday afternoon from the southwest with an accompanying front that spiraled outward from the low pressure center to parallel the Gulf coast east and south of the Kenai Peninsula. This storm spread clouds to the much of coastal Alaska stretching from the eastern portion of the Alaska Peninsula, across south central Alaska, to southeast Alaska. Clouds also spread into parts of the Tanana Valley and the Copper River Basin. Strong winds also accompanied this storm system, with Kodiak reporting gusts to 52 mph and Homer with gusts to 39 mph. Windy conditions were also found along the Panhandle, with Juneau experiencing gusts to 43 mph.

A large ridge of high pressure situated over the Arctic Ocean north of Prudhoe Bay was responsible for relatively clear skies across much of mainland Alaska, to include eastern portions of the North Slope, the interior and northern portions of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Cloudy skies were found along the western portion of the North Slope. Clouds also stretched along the Aleutians.

Alaska's lowest overnight temperature as of Thursday was 18 degrees below zero at Nuiqsut. The state's midafternoon highest temperature was 52 degrees at Eielson and Metlakatla.

HAWAIIAN WEATHER -- The cold front that was several hundred miles northwest of Kauai stalled early Thursday morning and weakened. The high pressure system that was to the northeast of Hawaii on Wednesday was gradually being replaced by a new high pressure cell that was moving from the northwest into a position north of the islands late Thursday. Light to moderate trade winds should continue across the islands through the early part of the weekend.

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 23 April

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

...1885...The city of Denver, CO was in the midst of a storm which produced 23 inches of snow in 24 hours, and at Idaho Springs, CO produced 32 inches of snow. (David Ludlum)
...1910...The temperature at the Civic Center in Los Angeles, CA hit 100 degrees to establish an April record for the city. (The Weather Channel)
...1983...A mini-blizzard produced sixteen inches of snow at Laramie, WY, including a foot of snow in just eight hours during the night. (The Weather Channel)
...1986...Light snow fell in Norfolk, VA, marking the latest date that snow has ever been observed in Norfolk since records began in 1874. (Intellicast)
...1987...Thunderstorms in the Atlantic Coast Region produced golf ball size hail and wind gusts to 67 mph at Anderson, SC. The high winds destroyed two planes at the airport, and the large hail damaged fifty other planes, and severely damaged twenty-three greenhouses. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...An intense winter-like storm brought thunderstorms to southern California, and produced snow in some of the higher elevations. Nine girls at Tustin, CA were injured when lightning struck the tree under which their softball team had taken shelter from the rain. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Salina, KS was the hot spot in the nation with a high of 105 degrees. The high of 105 degrees established an April record for the state of Kansas. A total of eighteen cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel)
A single thunderstorm produced 17 tornadoes over a relatively small area along the Kansas-Nebraska border over a period of 2.5 hours. As many as 4 tornadoes were observed on the ground at the same time in Phillips County, Kansas. (Intellicast)
...1990...Thunderstorms produced severe weather in West Texas and western Oklahoma. Thunderstorms produced tennis ball size hail at Lake McKenzie, TX and at Garden City, TX, and produced wind gusts to 90 mph at Gage, OK. Thunderstorms drenched southeast Minnesota with heavy rain, with 6.6 inches reported northwest of Browndale. High temperatures were mostly in the 80s across the central U.S. The morning low of 67 degrees at Fargo, ND and afternoon high of 91 degrees were both records for the date. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1993...A coastal storm dumped big late season snows across central and northeastern New York. Two day snowfall totals included 22 inches at Malone, 19.2 inches at Tully, 19 inches at Ellenburg Depot, and 10.3 inches at Binghamton. (Intellicast)
...1996... One inch of snow on this day at Cleveland, OH brought its seasonal snowfall to 101.1 inches -- the city snowiest winter ever. The old record was 100.5 inches set in 1981-82. (Intellicast)

24 April

...1899...Two women and one son lived to tell the story of being picked up by a tornado and carried more than a fourth of a mile, flying far above the church steeples, before being gently set down again. The young boy and one of the ladies said they had the pleasure of flying alongside a horse. The horse "kicked and struggled" as it flew high above, and was set down unharmed about a mile away. (The Weather Channel)
...1908...Severe thunderstorms spawned eighteen tornadoes over across the Central Gulf Coast States claiming the lives of 310 persons. Three F4 tornadoes accounted for most of the deaths and damage. The state of Mississippi was hardest hit. A tornado near Hattiesburg, MS killed 143 persons and caused more than half a million dollars damage. Four violent tornadoes accounted for 279 of the 310 deaths. The deadliest of the four tornadoes swelled to a width of 2.5 miles as it passed near Amite, LA. The tornado also leveled most of Purvis, MS, as only 7 of the 150 houses in town were left standing. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
...1987...Showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rain in the Middle Atlantic Coast Region. Up to seven inches of rain drenched Virginia in three days. Morgantown, WV received 4.27 inches in 24 hours, and flooding was reported in south central West Virginia. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Low pressure produced high winds and severe thunderstorms in the Southern Plains Region. Strong thunderstorm winds destroyed two mobile homes at Whitt, TX injuring two persons. Winds associated with the low pressure system gusted to 70 mph at Guadalupe Pass, TX. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Twenty cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Russell, KS was the hot spot in the nation with a reading of 101 degrees. Evening thunderstorms produced severe weather from Colorado to Wisconsin. Hail four and a half inches in diameter was reported at Sargeant, NE. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1990...Thunderstorms produced severe weather from the Southern High Plains to north central Kansas. Thunderstorms spawned ten tornadoes, including one which injured four persons and caused 1.5 million dollars damage at Shattuck, OK. Thunderstorms also produced softball size hail at Wheeler, TX, wind gusts to 85 mph southwest of Arnett, OK, and 13.45 inches of rain near Caldwell, TX, which resulted in the worst flooding in recent memory for that area. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1993...An F4 tornado struck Tulsa and Catoosa, OK. Seven people were killed and 100 were injured. A second tornado (F3) touched down from the same thunderstorm cell and ripped through Catoosa, doing heavy damage and injuring 30 people. Seventy percent of the businesses in Catoosa were damaged or destroyed. Total damage was 100 million dollars. (Intellicast)

25 April

...1875...New York City received three inches of snow, the latest measurable snow of record for that location. (David Ludlum)
...1898...The temperature at Volcano Springs, CA hit 118 degrees to establish a U.S. record for the month of April. (The Weather Channel)
...1910...Chicago, IL was blanketed with 2.5 inches of snow, and a total of 6.5 inches between the 22nd and the 26th. It was the latest significant snow of record for the city. (The Weather Channel)
...1912...Ponca City, OK was struck by an F4 tornado. One person was killed and 119 homes were damaged or destroyed. Dozens of oil derricks were flattened or twisted, southwest of town. The tornado was reportedly visible and audible for 20 miles. (Intellicast)
...1920...Atlanta, GA received 1.5 inches of snow, and experienced their latest freeze of record with a morning low of 32 degrees. The high of just 39 degrees was only their second daily high colder than 40 degrees in April. (The Weather Channel)
...1984...A late season snowstorm struck the Northern Rockies and the Northern Plains. The four day storm that ended on the 28th produced some unusually high snowfall totals. The town of Lead, located in the Black Hills of western South Dakota, was buried under 67 inches of snow. Red Lodge, located in the mountains of southern Montana, reported 72 inches of snow. Up to 60 inches blanketed the mountains of northern Wyoming. This storm was rated the worst late season storm of record for much of the affected area. (25th-28th) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel)
...1987...Low pressure off the coast of North Carolina produced heavy rain flooding creeks in the foothills and the piedmont area, before moving out to sea. The low pressure system also produced wind gusts to 50 mph in Virginia. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Thunderstorms racing at 65 mph produced large hail in Alabama and Georgia. Hail damage in Alabama was estimated at fifty million dollars, making it their worst weather disaster since Hurricane Frederick in 1979. Hail three inches in diameter accompanied a tornado near Valdosta, GA. Hail four and a half inches in diameter was reported near Fayetteville, Georgia and 2.5 inch diameter hail was reported at Montgomery, AL. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
...1989...Thunderstorms developing along a stationary front produced severe weather from North Carolina to Indiana and Ohio, with more than 70 reports of large hail and damaging winds. A strong (F-2) tornado hit Xenia, OH injuring 16 persons and causing more than a million dollars damage. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1990...Thunderstorms produced severe weather from Texas to Nebraska. Thunderstorms spawned fifteen tornadoes, including a powerful (F-4) tornado near Weatherford, TX. Between 3 PM and 8 PM, a storm complex tracking northeastward across central Kansas spawned four tornadoes along a 119-mile path from Ness to Smith Center, with the last tornado on the ground for 55 miles. Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, TX was raked with hail two inches in diameter, and wind gusts to 112 mph. Nine aircraft and 22 buildings were damaged on the base. Over 3.5 inches of rain in a few hours caused serious street flooding in Del Rio. Many streets were closed and many low water crossings were flooded. Brown County and Commanche County in Texas were deluged with up to 18 inches of rain, and flooding caused more than 65 million dollars damage. Two dozen cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Highs of 87 degrees at Flint, MI and 90 degrees at Alpena, MI were records for April. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) (Intellicast)
...1996...International Falls, MN recorded 9.6 inches of snow in a late season snowstorm, bringing the city's seasonal snowfall to 116.0 inches and breaking the old seasonal snowfall record of 111.0 inches set in 1992-93. (Intellicast)