Friday Daily Weather Summary

ONLINE DAILY WEATHER SUMMARY

Friday, 2 April 1999

UPPER AIR WEATHER CONDITIONS
YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48
ALASKAN WEATHER
HAWAIIAN WEATHER
A TIMELY REMINDER
HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS

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UPPER AIR WEATHER CONDITIONS -- The 500 mb and 300 mb upper air charts for 00Z Friday .

YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48 -- The lowest temperature on Thursday was XX degrees at XXX, while the day's high was XX degrees at XXX.

ALASKAN WEATHER -- ....

On Thursday the lowest overnight temperature in the state was XX degrees below zero at XXX, while the highest temperature as of midafternoon was XX degrees at XXX.

HAWAIIAN WEATHER -- ....

A TIMELY REMINDER -- Daylight Saving Time will go into effect this coming Sunday morning for essentially the entire nation -- the exceptions include Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the eastern time zone sections of Indiana. These changes have been mandated by the U.S. Congress. In other words, following the old adage of "spring ahead, fall behind", you will need to turn your clocks ahead by one hour to conform with the local time observance.

What does this time change mean to you (other than later sunsets)? Contrary to a popular belief that has surfaced at times, the change from Standard to Daylight Saving Time does not add an extra hour of daylight to the day nor does it affect weather patterns. While the weather will not change because of the time change, the times when you will be able to obtain weather charts will now be one hour later. The reason is that the National Weather Service operates on "Z time" (variously called Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Coordinated Time) which does not observe Daylight Saving Time, and the charts are still produced and transmitted at the same Z time.

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 2 April

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

...1837...A heavy April snow fell over St. Louis, MO and the surrounding area, with 17 inches falling in the city and 24 inches in the suburbs. (Intellicast)
...1957...An F3 tornado tore through Dallas, TX. Ten people were killed and 216 were injured. Total damage was 1.5 million dollars. This tornado was among the most photographed and studied in history. (Intellicast)
...1970...The last snowstorm of the 1969-70 winter season came to an end at Chicago, IL as 10.7 inches of snow fell -- a final contribution to the season's amount of 77 inches which set a new all-time snow season record for the city. (Intellicast)
...1975...A severe storm over the northeastern US began on this day and blasted the area for the next 3 days. Wind gusts reached 87 mph at West Harpswell, ME and Boston, MA recorded its lowest April pressure on record (28.68 inches). Tides along the coast ran 2 to 4 feet above normal and anywhere from 1 to 4 feet of snow fell from western New York to northern Maine with the higher elevations receiving the most. (Intellicast)
...1975...The northeastern U.S. was in the grips of a severe storm which produced hurricane force winds along the coast, and two to three feet of snow in Maine and New Hampshire. Winds atop Mount Washington, NH gusted to 140 mph. (David Ludlum)
The biggest snowstorm of record for so late in the season paralyzed Chicago, IL. Up to 20 inches of snow fell in extreme northeastern Illinois, and 10.9 inches of snow closed Chicago's O'Hare Airport. (The Weather Channel)
...1982...Severe thunderstorms spawned fifty-six tornadoes in the central U.S., including seventeen in the Red River Region of Texas and Oklahoma. The tornadoes claimed thirty lives, and injured 383 other persons. A violent tornado near Messer, OK left only the carpet tack strips on the slab of a house it destroyed, and carried a motel sign thirty miles. (The Weather Channel) (Storm Data)
...1982...Fifty six tornadoes ripped through the Midwest and Mississippi Valley. A total of 30 people were killed and 383 were injured. Paris, TX was hit by an F4 tornado with 10 people killed and 170 injured. An F5 tornado, at times 1.5 miles wide, tracked 53 miles through Choctaw and McCurtain counties in Oklahoma. (Intellicast)
...1984...A late season winter storm blasted Nebraska, northeastern Colorado, and southern South Dakota. 24 inches of snow was recorded at Mullen, Nebraska. Winds gusting to 50 mph created 3 to 6 foot drifts. 22 inches of snow fell in the black hills in South Dakota. Interstates 70 and 76 were closed east of the Denver, Colorado area stranding over 1000 travelers in Limon, Colorado. (Intellicast)
...1987...Eleven cities in Florida reported record low temperatures for the date, including Tallahassee with a reading of 31 degrees. The low of 48 degrees at Key West smashed their previous record for the date by 13 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...Thunderstorms produced up to nine inches of rain around New Orleans, LA causing 18 million dollars damage. A tornado caused three million dollars damage at Slidell, LA. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1990...Thunderstorms produced severe weather in North Carolina and Virginia during the afternoon and evening. Thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail, and spawned a tornado near Chester, VA which caused half a million dollars damage. A storm system produced snow and gale force winds across northern Michigan, with 8.3 inches of snow reported at Marquette. Temperatures in the north central U.S. soared from morning lows in the 20s and 30s to afternoon highs in the 60s and 70s. Eight cities reported record highs for the date, including Havre, MT with a reading of 77 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

3 April

...1915...A heavy Easter weekend snowstorm produced 10 to 20 inches from the Mid Atlantic to southern New England. 19.4 inches fell at Philadelphia, PA, 17 inches at Trenton, NJ, 15 inches at Dover, DE, and 10.2 inches at New York City, NY. (Intellicast)
...1956...An F5 tornado chewed its way through Hudsonville, Standale, and Grand Rapids, MI. Eighteen people were killed and 340 were injured. (Intellicast)
...1964...Wichita Falls, TX was hit by an F5 tornado. Seven people were killed and 111 were injured. Great damage was done at Sheppard Air Force Base where 3 tanker planes, a hanger, the power plant, and the chapel were all destroyed. (Intellicast)
...1974...A "Super-Outbreak" of tornadoes, the largest outbreak ever, ravaged the Midwest and the eastern U.S. Severe weather erupted early in the afternoon and continued through the next day. Severe thunderstorms spawned 148 tornadoes in 12 states from Alabama to Michigan, most of which occurred between 1 PM (CST) on the 3rd and 1 AM on the 4th. At one point, 16 tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously in Indiana. The tornadoes killed 315 persons, injured 5300 others, and caused over 600 million dollars damage. Alabama, Kentucky and Ohio were especially hard hit in the tornado outbreak. Six of the tornadoes were rated F5 on the Fujita scale. One F5 tornado destroyed half of the town of Xenia, OH killing 34 persons and causing 100 million dollars in damage. Another tornado, near the town of Stamping Ground, KY, produced a path of destruction a record five miles in width. Brandenburg, KY was devastated as well by yet another F5 with 28 people killed. A F-5 tornado raced through Guin, AL at a record speed of 75 mph and demolished almost the entire town. Two powerful tornadoes roared across northern Alabama during the early evening hours, killing fifty persons and injuring 500 others. Some rescue vehicles responding to the first tornado were struck by the second. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) (Storm Data) (Tom Grazulis)
...1987... A large, slow moving low pressure produced very heavy snows over the Appalachian region starting on the 3rd and continuing into the 5th. Sixty inches fell at Newfound Gap in western North Carolina -- the largest single storm snowfall in the state's history. Up to 36 inches was reported in southeastern Kentucky. The total of 25 inches at Charleston, WV easily surpassed its previous record for the entire month of April of 5.9 inches. The 20.6 inch total at Akron, OH established an all-time record for that location. Interstate 40 was closed by snow for the first time since it was opened 20 years ago. This storm also dumped heavy snow in central and northeastern Alabama. Never before had a snowfall blanketed Alabama in April. Ten inches fell at Valley Head, 9 inches piled up at Fort Payne, and Birmingham recorded 6 inches. Lightning and thunder accompanied the snow in some areas while snow flurries fell as far south as Mobile. The trace of snow was the first snow ever reported in the month of April in Mobile since records began in 1872. One inch of snow fell at Jackson, MS and two inches were reported at Meridian, MS, the latest snow of record for those locations. The storm became known unofficially as the "Dogwood snowstorm" in the state. (Intellicast) (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987) (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...A wind gust to 114 mph was clocked at Ann Arbor, MI during a tornadic thunderstorm. Thunderstorms in Michigan and Indiana spawned five tornadoes that Easter Sunday, and also produced golf ball size hail. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Thunderstorms produced severe weather from the Southern Plains to the southern and central Appalachians. The thunderstorms spawned twenty tornadoes, including one which caused eight million dollars damage at Fort Branch, IN. A severe thunderstorm produced baseball size hail along an almost continuous 130 mile path through southern Illinois and Indiana. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
...1996...Marquette, MI recorded 12.6 inches of snow on this day to raise its seasonal snowfall to 250.8 inches -- the city's snowiest winter ever. The old record was 243.8 inches set back in 1981-82. The snowfall for the month now stood at 43.4 inches -- the snowiest April on record for the city as well. (Intellicast)

4 April

...1804...A large tornado crossed six Georgia counties killing at least eleven persons near Augusta. (David Ludlum)
...1923...An F4 tornado killed 15 people and injured 150 at Alexandria and Pineville, LA. In Pineville, 142 homes and businesses were destroyed. (Intellicast)
...1933...Pigeon River Bridge, MN reported 28 inches of snow, which established the state 24 hour snowfall record. (4th-5th) (The Weather Channel)
...1955...A severe 3 day spring snowstorm came to an end over north-central Wyoming and south-central Montana. Sheridan, WY had near blizzard conditions for 43 hours and recorded 22.7 inches of snow in 24 hours on the 3rd to set a new 24 hour snowfall record. Billings, MT had a storm total of 42.3 inches, a new single storm snowfall record. (Intellicast)
...1966...One of the strongest tornadoes in Florida's history moved in from the Gulf of Mexico and ripped through Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, and Osceola counties. Damage was very severe in the towns of Gibsonia and Galloway in Polk county. Eleven people were killed and 350 were injured. The tornado was classified as F4 on the Fujita scale. (Intellicast)
...1973...Sandia Crest, NM reported a snow depth of 95 inches, a record for the state of New Mexico. (The Weather Channel)
...1977...An F5 tornado hit Tarrant, AL (just north of Birmingham). Twenty two were killed and 130 were injured. Damage was set at $15 million. (Intellicast)
...1983...Colorado was in the midst of a three day winter storm and by the time it was all over on the 5th, 21 inches of new snow was recorded at Fort Collins and Buckhorn Mountain, not too far to the west of Fort Collins, was buried under 64.4 inches. To the east, 11 inches of snow was on the ground at Liberal, Kansas and 14 inches at Trousdale, Kansas. (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
...1987...New England was in the middle of its second heavy rainstorm in 5 days. This was the same storm that produced record snows in the Appalachians. This storm dumped 4 to 7 inches of rain over the area and this, combined with snowmelt and rivers already at bankfull, produced record flooding, especially in Maine, where 2300 homes were flooded with 215 totally destroyed. Record water levels were reached at many dams. Damage in the state alone reached 100 million dollars. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
...1989...Thunderstorms produced severe weather from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Southern Appalachians. The thunderstorms spawned seventeen tornadoes, including one which caused two million dollars damage at Baldwin, AL. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 90 mph at Bremen, GA. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1990...A deep low pressure system in northern New York State brought heavy snow to parts of western and central New York during the day. The snowfall total of 5.8 inches at Buffalo was a record for the date, and 9.5 inches was reported at Rochester. Snowfall totals ranged up to 11 inches at Warsaw. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)