Friday Daily Weather Summary

ONLINE DAILY WEATHER SUMMARY

Friday, 7 May 1999

UPPER AIR
YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48
ALASKAN WEATHER
HAWAIIAN WEATHER
REPORTS FROM THE FIELD
A REMINDER
A TIME OUT
HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS

....

UPPER AIR --The 500 and 300 mb constant pressure 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 -- ....

The lowest overnight temperature across the state as of Thursday was XX degrees below zero at XXX. The highest midafternoon temperature was XX degrees at XXX.

HAWAIIAN WEATHER -- ...

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD --

NOTE: A big "Thank You" is extended to all correspondents who contributed to this Reports from the Field section. Your reports have been interesting and they serve as a reminder to "keep a weathered eye out". EJH

A REMINDER -- Sunday is Mother's Day. Take at least a moment to thank your Mom!

A TIME OUT -- Today's Daily Weather Summary discussion is the final one for the spring 1999 course. Starting Monday, 10 May and running through the summer, the Online Weather Daily Summary will contain only the selected Historical Weather Events for that day. Current weather data will be available on the homepage as usual. If you are looking for an alternative description of daily weather, you could try:

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wlead.htm

Online Weather Daily Summaries and Activity files will return with the Fall 1999 Online Weather course during Preview Week on Monday, 6 September 1998. Have a happy summer!

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 7 May

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

...1840...A powerful tornado wrecked many boats at the Natchez Landing in Mississippi, then plowed through the city on the bluff. The tornado killed 317 persons, and caused a million dollars damage. The force of the storm caused houses to burst open. The tornado was the most deadly and destructive in early American history. (David Ludlum)
...1927...Two massive F5 tornadoes combined for a 95 mile path of destruction through Comanche, Barber, Kingman, Reno, and McPherson Counties in Kansas. The death toll was 10 and 300 were injured. Damage was set at 1.3 million. The tornado path width reached 2 miles at one point. (Intellicast)
...1964...The temperature at White Mountain 2, located in California, dipped to 15 degrees below zero to set a record for May for the continental U.S. (The Weather Channel)
...1987...Thirty-one cities in the western U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date under a large high pressure area over the region. Highs of 93 degrees at Portland, OR and San Jose, CA were the warmest of record for so early in the season. The high of 92 degrees at Quillayute, WA was a record for the month of May. The temperature at Sacramento, CA hit 105 degrees, Fresno reached 103 degrees and Bakersfield had a high reading of 101 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...A powerful storm in the north central U.S. produced up to three feet of snow in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming and the mountains of south central Montana. Up to five inches of rain drenched central Montana in less than 24 hours, and flash flooding in Wyoming caused a million dollars damage. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1989...Thirty-two cities in the central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, and 24 hour snowfall totals of 7.2 inches at Buffalo, NY and 10.7 inches at Rochester, NY were records for the month of May. While northerly winds ushered unseasonably cold air into the eastern U.S., temperatures warmed rapidly in the Great Plains Region, reaching the 90s in Kansas. The temperature at Manhattan, KS soared from a low of 30 degrees to a high of 88 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1990...Gale force winds lashed the northern and central Pacific coast. A wind gust of 52 mph at Eureka, CA established a record for the month of May. Strong winds over northeastern Colorado, associated with a fast moving Pacific cold front, gusted to 63 mph at Peetz. Snow developed over the northwest mountains of Wyoming late in the day, and Yellowstone National Park was whitened with 6 to 14 inches. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1995...An F3 tornado cut a 34 mile path across Love and Carter Counties in south-central Oklahoma, killing 3 people and doing over $100 million in damages -- $75 million in Ardmore alone. (Intellicast)

8 May

...1784...A deadly hailstorm in South Carolina hit the town of Winnsborough. An account was found in the South Carolina Gazette: "hailstones, or rather pieces of ice measured about 9 inches in circumference: it killed several persons. a great number of sheep, lambs, geese, and the feathered inhabitants of the woods without number". Piles of hail were reported still in existence 46 days later. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
...1803...A freak spring storm produced heavy snow from southern Indiana to New England. The storm made sleighing possible in Massachusetts, but also ruined shade trees in Philadelphia. (David Ludlum)
...1981...The Dallas/Fort Worth area experienced its worst hailstorm of record as baseball to grapefruit size hail, accompanied by 100 mph winds, caused nearly 200 million dollars damage. Two homes were destroyed and many more were damaged. These figures made it the worst severe thunderstorm in American weather history until 1990. Hail accumulated eight inches deep at Cedar Hill, TX. (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
...1987...Twenty-eight cities in the northwestern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The record high of 95 degrees at Redding, CA was their fifth in a row, and the record high of 102 degrees at Hanover, WA was just one degree shy of their record for May. (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...Thunderstorms in the Mississippi Valley spawned a total of 57 tornadoes, including 24 in Wisconsin, and a record 22 tornadoes in one day in Iowa. One of the tornadoes in Iowa was on the ground for 67 miles from Bloomfield to Conesville. There were also more than 200 reports of large hail and damaging winds. Baseball size hail was reported at Terre Bonne, MO. At Rockford, IL one person was temporarily trapped inside a portable toilet toppled by thunderstorm winds gusting to 80 mph. Fortunately, not a single person was killed in the "Mother's Day" tornado outbreak. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
...1989...Twenty-one cities in the eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. Lows of 28 degrees at Asheville NC and 31 degrees at Greer, SC were records for May. (The National Weather Summary)
...1990...Thunderstorms produced severe weather in northwestern and north central Kansas during the evening and night. Thunderstorms produced hail three inches in diameter at Brewster, and wind gusts to 92 mph south of Wakeeney. Thunderstorms over northwest Iowa deluged the town of Boone with five inches of rain flooding basements and leaving some areas under four feet of water. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1992...A vigorous upper level low pressure system stalled out over the Carolinas for the past 3 days unloaded tremendous amounts of snow over the western North Carolina mountains above 4000 feet. Mt. Pisgah (elevation 5721 feet) recorded an incredible 60 inches over the 3 day period, tying the all-time single storm snowfall record for the state. Mt. Mitchell (elevation 6684 feet) was buried under 30 inches of very wet snow. On the previous day, the Greenville-Spartanburg Weather Service Office in Greer, SC had snow mixed with rain, making this the latest date and the first time in may that snow had fallen at this location. (Intellicast)
...1995...Thunderstorms with torrential rains struck the New Orleans, LA area. Audubon Park recorded 8.5 inches of rain in only 2 hours. Several locations had over 14 inches total ending early on the 9th. 5 people were killed in the flooding and damage exceeded one billion dollars. (Intellicast)

9 May

...1894...Portland, OR had its latest freeze when the temperature fell to 32 degrees. This is the only May freeze in Portland's history. (Intellicast)
...1926...It was the latest opening of navigation on record at Buffalo, NY. (Intellicast)
...1927...A major tornado outbreak occurred from Texas to Michigan. There were 28 tornadoes rated F2 or greater. Nine separate tornadoes killed 5 or more people making this day one of the worst tornado days in U.S. history. Popular Bluff, MO was devastated by a tornado rated F4 on the Fujita scale. Ninety eight people were killed and 300 were injured. Thirty one business and residential blocks were destroyed in the city. Strong, AR was leveled by another F4 tornado with 24 people killed. (Intellicast)
...1933...A tornado, rated F4 on the Fujita Scale, moved through Monroe, Cumberland, and Russell Counties in Kentucky. 36 people were killed. (Intellicast)
...1966...Record snows fell in the northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, including 3.1 inches at Pittsburgh, PA and 5.4 inches at Youngstown, OH. Snow also extended across parts of New York State, with eight inches reported in the southern Adirondacks. (The Weather Channel)
...1977...A late season snowstorm hit parts of Pennsylvania, New York State, and southern and central New England. Heavier snowfall totals included 27 inches at Slide Mountain, NY and 20 inches at Norwalk, CT. At Boston it was the first May snow in 107 years of records. The heavy wet snow caused extensive damage to trees and power lines. The homes of half a million persons were without power following the storm. (9th-10th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
...1985...Lightning struck some trees about 150 yards away from a home in Alabama, and followed the driveway to the home. The charge went through the house and burned all the electrical outlets, ruined appliances, and blasted a hole in the concrete floor of the basement. (The Weather Channel)
...1987...Unseasonably warm weather spread from the Pacific Northwest to the Upper Mississippi Valley. Fifteen cities reported record high temperatures for the date. It was the fourth day of record warmth for Eugene, OR and Salem, OR. (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...A massive cyclone in the central U.S. produced severe thunderstorms from eastern Texas to the Upper Ohio Valley. A strong (F-3) tornado ripped through Middleboro KY causing more than 22 million dollars damage. Thunderstorms in east central Texas produced hail three and a half inches in diameter at Groesbeck, and near Fairfield. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1989...Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front in the south central U.S. produced golf ball size hail and wind gusts to 62 mph at Mira, LA, and during the morning hours drenched Stuttgart, AR with five inches of rain. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1990...Thunderstorms produced severe weather in the central U.S. during the evening hours, mainly from southeastern Missouri to southwestern Indiana. Severe thunderstorms spawned four tornadoes, including two strong (F-2) tornadoes in southern Illinois. Strong thunderstorm winds gusted to 85 mph at Orient IL, and to 100 mph at West Salem. Thunderstorms drenched northeastern Illinois with up to 4.50 inches of rain. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)