Friday Daily Weather Summary

ONLINE DAILY WEATHER SUMMARY

Friday, 19 March 1999

YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES IN THE LOWER 48
ALASKAN WEATHER
HAWAIIAN WEATHER
HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS

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THE EQUINOX IS UPON US
May want to change this one to following Monday --

THE EQUINOX IS UPON US -- The daylength has been getting longer, and astronomical spring starts on Saturday with the vernal equinox, as discussed on Wednesday's Supplemental Information .

Vernal Equinox is 21 March 1999 0146Z

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND? -- Are you prepared to observe the passage of the vernal (or spring) equinox? If not, please consult Wednesday's Supplemental Information . (Note, the vernal equinox occurs during the evening hours of Saturday the continental US, or more specifically at 8:46 PM EST.)

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

ALASKAN WEATHER -- ...

The lowest overnight temperature in the state on Thursday morning was XX degrees below zero at XXX. The highest afternoon temperature was XX degrees at XXX.

HAWAIIAN WEATHER -- ....

HISTORICAL WEATHER EVENTS - 19 March

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

...1950...Timberline Lodge reported 246 inches of snow on the ground, a record for the state of Oregon. (The Weather Channel)
...1935...Suffocating dust storms occurred frequently in southeastern Colorado between the 12th and the 25th of the month. Six people died, and many livestock starved or suffocated. Up to six feet of dust covered the ground. Schools were closed, and many rural homes were deserted by tenants. (The Weather Channel)
...1948...An F4 tornado moved through Fosterburg, Bunker Hill, and Gillespie, IL, killing 33 people and injuring 449. Two thousand buildings in Bunker Hill were damaged or destroyed. Total damage was 3.6 million dollars. (Intellicast)
...1956...The second heavy snowstorm in just three days hit Boston, where 13 inches of snow was recorded. Traffic was paralyzed. Nearby Blue Hill received 19.5 inches contributing to their snowiest March of record. Twenty inches of snow fell at Putnam, CT. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
...1984...A major winter storm produced blizzard conditions in northwestern Kansas and southern Nebraska. This storm, which began affecting the region on the 18th, dumped 10 to 20 inches of snow over the above mentioned areas. A severe ice storm occurred in northeastern Kansas with 1 inch ice accumulations common. The 1400 foot radio tower for KLDH-TV near Topeka buckled and then collapsed from the weight of a 3 inch coating of ice. This ice storm ranks as one of the worst ever to hit Kansas. (Intellicast)
...1987...A storm in the western U.S. produced rain and snow from the northern and central Pacific coast to the northern and central Rockies. Heavier snowfall totals included 13 inches at Clear Creek, UT, 12 inches at Snow Camp, CA and Glacier Park, MT, and 10 inches at Kayenta, AZ. Wind gusts reached 54 mph at Winslow, AZ. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Seven cities in California and Nevada reported record high temperatures for the date as readings soared into the 80s and lower 90s. Los Angeles, CA reported a record high of 89 degrees. Five cities in south central Texas reported record lows, including El Paso, with a reading of 22 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
...1989...Six cities reported new record low temperatures for the date as cold arctic air settled into the Upper Midwest for Palm Sunday, including Marquette, MI with a reading of 11 degrees below zero. (The National Weather Summary)
...1990...Rather wintry weather in the eastern U.S. replaced the 80 degree weather of the previous week. Freezing temperatures were reported in northern sections of the Gulf Coast States, and snow began to whiten the Northern and Central Appalachians. Up to eight inches of snow was reported in western Virginia. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)

20 March

...1924...A late winter storm in Oklahoma produced nearly a foot of snow at Oklahoma City and at Tulsa. (David Ludlum)
...1948... An F3 tornado tracked through Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, OK and destroyed 52 aircraft. More than 10 million dollars damage was done making this the costliest tornado on record up to the time in Oklahoma.
The city of Juneau received 31 inches of snow in 24 hours, a record for the Alaska capitol. (20th-21st) (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
...1984...A severe three day winter storm came to an end over the Central Plains. The storm produced up to twenty inches of snow in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas, and left a thick coat of ice from eastern Kansas across northwestern Missouri into Iowa. (Storm Data)
...1987...A storm produced blizzard conditions in Wyoming and eastern Nebraska, and severe thunderstorms in central Nebraska. Snowfall totals ranged up to 12 inches at Glenrock, WY and Chadron, NE. Thunderstorms in central Nebraska produced wind gusts to 69 mph at Valentine, and wind gusts to 76 mph at Bartley. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1988...Squalls in the Great Lakes Region left up to eight inches of new snow on the ground in time for the official start of spring. Unseasonably warm weather prevailed in the western U.S. Seven cities reported new record high temperatures for the date, including Tucson, AZ with a reading of 89 degrees. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1989...Snow and high winds created blizzard conditions in western Kansas to usher in the official start of the spring season. Thunderstorms produced severe weather from east Texas to Alabama and northwest Florida, with nearly fifty reports of large hail and damaging winds during the afternoon and evening hours. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1990...The northeastern U.S. was in the midst of a snowstorm as spring officially began at 4:19 PM. Snowfall totals in the Green Mountains of Vermont ranged up to thirty inches, and up to 15 inches of snow was reported in the Catskills and Adirondacks of eastern New York State. Totals in eastern Pennsylvania ranged up to 12 inches at Armenia Mountain. The storm resulted in one death, and forty-nine injuries. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

21 March

...1932...A tornado swarm occurred in the Deep South. Between late afternoon and early the next morning severe thunderstorms spawned 31 tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. The tornadoes killed 334 persons and injured 1784 others. Northern Alabama was hardest hit. Tornadoes in Alabama killed 286 persons and caused five million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
...1952...Severe thunderstorms spawned thirty-one tornadoes across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky. The tornadoes killed 343 persons and caused 15 million dollars damage. Arkansas and Tennessee each reported thirteen tornadoes. The towns of Judsonia, AR and Henderson, TN were nearly wiped off the map in what proved to be the worst tornado outbreak of record for Arkansas. A tornado, one and a half miles wide at times, left a church the only undamaged building at Judsonia. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
...1987...A winter storm in the Northern High Plains Region produced blizzard conditions in western South Dakota. Winds gusted to 70 mph at Rapid City, SD, and snowfall totals ranged up to 20 inches at Lead, SD. The high winds produced snow drifts six feet high. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1988...Bitterly cold weather prevailed across the northeastern U.S. Portland, ME reported their coldest spring day of record with a morning low of 5 above, and an afternoon high of just 21 degrees. Marquette, MI reported a record low of 15 degrees below zero. (The National Weather Summary) (The Weather Channel)
...1989...Snow blanketed the northeastern U.S. early in the day, with six inches reported at Rutland, VT. Morning and afternoon thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds from southwestern Mississippi to southwest Georgia. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
...1990...The first full day of spring was a cold one for the eastern U.S. Freezing temperatures damaged 62 percent of the peach crop in upstate South Carolina, and 72 percent of the peach crop in the ridge area of South Carolina. Elkins, WV, which a week earlier reported a record high of 82 degrees, was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 16 degrees. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
...1992...Intense snow squalls associated with a stalled cold front buried Kennebunkport, ME under 14 inches of snow in only 4 hours. Goose Rocks Beach reported an amazing two feet in the same time period. Portland, ME recorded 4 inches of snow in just one hour with a total of 11.4 inches. Nearly 6 inches of snow fell in one hour in the Beverly, MA area, resulting in a 27 car pile up on route 128 and the closing down of the route for 1.5 hours. (Intellicast)