WELCOME TO PREVIEW WEEK OF ONLINE WEATHER - The Daily Weather Summary file will describe the current weather pattern across the U.S. Additional Supplemental Information Files will provide optional background material when approriate.
The following discussion is based upon the major weather features appearing on Monday night's surface weather maps:
DRY WEATHER AHEAD FOR THE EAST -- A large high pressure system moved eastward across the Ohio Valley on Monday night, clearing skies and providing much of the Northeast with some dry weather. These tranquil weather conditions were in contrast to the weekend of rainy conditions that caused some flooding across the Northeast and New England. Flood warnings continued for several rivers in New York State, to include the Mohawk, were an ice jam caused flooding. Farther west, some streams across the Midwest fell below flood stage. Some light lake-effect snowshowers continued across northern Ohio and western portions of Pennsylvania and New York State as winds from the west traveled across Lake Erie.
This high pressure system followed a storm system that moved quickly from the Mississippi Valley to off the New England coast in a span of 24 hours. As the storm raced eastward, it was accompanied by a band of snow from southern Wisconsin eastward across Michigan's Lower Peninsula and into New York State and Pennsylvania.. The early morning snowfall at Grand Rapids, MI contributed to the monthly snowfall total of 46.1 inches, making this month the snowiest January on record for that city. This storm was also responsible for record snowfall on Sunday at La Crosse (8.0 inches). As of late Monday night the low pressure system was situated to the south of Nova Scotia and continued to produce windy conditions across New England, where winds from the northwest circulated around the departed storm system.
A cold front trailing the low pressure system moved southward and stalled across the Tennessee and Mississippi Valleys. This front separated cold air accompanying the high pressure system in the Ohio Valley from warmer air associated with a high pressure cell over the Gulf Coast. While high temperatures were near seasonal average highs across the much of the Northeast and Midwest, many locations across New England were some 20 degrees lower than the record high temperatures set on Sunday before a cold front passed. To the south of the front, afternoon high temperatures across the Gulf Coast states were on the order of 15 degrees above the long term average high temperatures for this time of year.
The high pressure system is expected to move eastward, reaching the Blue Ridge of Virginia by early Tuesday morning. The stationary front is expected to remain oriented in an east-west direction across northern portions of the Gulf Coast states.
THE WINTRY STORM PATTERN CONTINUES ACROSS THE WEST -- Two separate low pressure systems were producing stormy conditions along the West Coast and across the Great Basin. The first low was located over the Grand Canyon of northwestern Arizona, with a cold front that trailed south toward the Gulf of California. Precipitation accompanying this system extended from central Utah and Nevada southward to northern Mexico along the lower Colorado River. Snow was reported over the higher elevations of northern Arizona. A second low pressure system was situated along the southern Oregon Coast near Cape Blanco, with a cold front that stretched southward into Northern California before curving southwestward out over the Pacific Ocean. Precipitation stretched from western Oregon southward to near the San Francisco Bay area.
Cold air was found across the West, with Monday's high temperatures over much of the West as much as 10 degrees below the climatological high temperatures for the date. An infrequent weather event occurred in the southern San Joaquin Valley as snow fell on Monday. One day after receiving a daily record 1.37 inches of rain, Bakersfield had measurable snowfall (0.1 inches or more) for the third time in station history, and the first in nearly 25 years. In fact, Bakersfield reported an all-time record snowfall of 3.0 inches on Monday, doubling the previous all-time record set on 8 March 1974. Measurable snow occurred one other time in December 1932, while trace amounts have occurred as recently as December 1990. Snow was also reported at Fresno. The snow also closed a portion of Interstate 5 because of poor driving conditions.
The first storm is expected to move east toward western Colorado by Tuesday morning. A variety of snow advisories and winter storm watches were posted across the mountains of Utah, western Wyoming and Colorado. High winds across southern Arizona and New Mexico caused blowing dust.
Once across the Rockies, reorganization and intensification to a new storm system on the high Plains is expected.
The afternoon high temperature at Safford, AZ reached a record 79 degrees, while El Paso, TX had a record tying 77 degrees.
TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48 -- The lowest temperature on Monday was 22 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) at Williston, ND, while Monday's highest temperature was 85 degrees at Fort Stockton, TX.
ALASKAN WEATHER -- Several storm systems dominated the weather across the state on Monday. A large storm system moved eastward along the Aleutians. As of Monday afternoon, the low pressure center was located near Atka, with a clouds and precipitation along a frontal band extending eastward into the Gulf of Alaska near Kodiak Island. This storm system also generated strong winds across the Alaska Peninsula and the Bering Sea. Saint Paul Island reported gusts to 40 mph together with blowing snow, and Sitka had gusts to 27 mph. A blizzard warning was in effect for the Pribilof Islands through Monday night. The strong winds prompted issuance of a wind-chill warning for the Kuskokwim Delta effective Monday night and Tuesday. Another storm system was situated near Fort Yukon with a frontal band that stretched from western Canada southwestward into the Yukon Valley of interior Alaska. A weak low pressure system located to the southeast of Cordova with an associated frontal band that extended eastward into the northern portion of the Panhandle produced light precipitation across Southeast Alaska and the Panhandle. While air temperatures along the Arctic Slope were near 30 degrees below zero on Monday, wind-chill equivalent temperatures fell to 70 degrees below zero.
The state lowest temperature on Monday morning was 38 degrees below zero at Kivalina. The highest temperature across Alaska as of midafternoon on Monday was 41 degrees at Chignik.
HAWAIIAN WEATHER -- A large high pressure system with a fairly strong central pressure remained nearly stationary some 1500 miles to the northeast of Hawaii. As a result strong winds continued to circulate out of the southern flank of this high and across the islands from the northeast as "trade winds". Heavy showers are expected across the islands because the air is humid. Some thunderstorms were possible on the windward slopes of the Big Island. The strong trade winds have necessitated continuing the gale warnings for all channels (for winds between 39 and 54 mph), small craft advisories for coastal waters and high surf advisories for the east shores of the islands.
WHAT TIME IS IT? -- You will find that all Online Weather meteorological maps and charts are labeled with numbers followed with a "Z", such as 00Z, 12Z, 1915Z, etc. These labels indicate the time of observation in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC). The UTC or "Z" time is used because weather observations must be taken at the same time everywhere to accurately represent the state of the atmosphere. But how can you tell from the reported Z time when the observations were made where you live? For additional Z-time explanation, call up Tuesday's optional Supplemental Information.
From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast
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Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email
hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 1999, The American Meteorological Society.