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
...
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)
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Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 1999, The American Meteorological Society.