NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

JUNE 2006

1st-3rd...In the East, a low pressure system produced scattered showers
and thunderstorms across most of the region on Friday. Severe storms
have been reported across northern Alabama, and portions of both North
and South Carolina. Storms were reported to have blown down trees, a
satellite dish and a flag pole, as well as caused 11,000 electrical
customers to be without power in McConnells South Carolina. Other
strong storms across the region have produced, lightning, gusty winds,
small hail, and heavy downpours. In the central part of the United
States, an unstable air mass across southeast Texas and the Lower
Mississippi Valley has produced afternoon scattered showers and
thunderstorms. The strongest of these storms have produced lightning,
gusty winds, small hail, and heavy downpours. Storms across Jim Wells
and Kleberg counties in south Texas have produced flash flood warnings,
with rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches reported. Elsewhere, an unstable
air mass over the Desert Southwest has produced scattered showers and
thunderstorms. The strongest of these storms have produced lightning,
gusty winds, and heavy downpours.

11th-17th...Tropical Storm Alberto intensified rapidly Monday as it
tracked northeastward toward the Florida Panhandle in the eastern Gulf
of Mexico. Maximum sustained winds increased from 50 mph to 70 mph.
Moderate to heavy rain lashed the Florida Peninsula and tornadoes were
spotted in Polk and Desoto counties. Meanwhile, a front extended from
the Mid-Atlantic and Tennessee Valley west into the central and
southern Plains. Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms dampened
the region, with the heaviest rain in the Carolinas, Arkansas and Texas
Panhandle. Hail nearly 3 inches in diameter hit Craven and Pamlico, NC.
The first tropical storm of the season raked northern Florida with rain
and powerful wind gusts Tuesday but didn't blow up into a hurricane as
forecasters had feared. A hurricane warning that had been issued for
more than 100 miles of
Florida's gulf coast was downgraded to a tropical storm warning before
Alberto made landfall near Adams Beach, southeast of Tallahassee. The
storm's top sustained winds were 50 mph, well below the 74 mph
threshold for a hurricane. A flood watch was issued for southeastern
South Carolina, where more than 5 inches of rain was possible.
Forecasters said parts of Florida and southeastern Georgia could get 4
to 10 inches of rain was welcome news to crews that have been battling
wildfires for weeks in several parched Florida counties. The storm's
center came ashore around 12:30 p.m. about 50 miles southeast of
Tallahassee, the National Hurricane Center said. In nearby
Steinhatchee, a small fishing town in the Big Bend, life already
appeared to be returning to normal. Alberto's wind and rain littered
yards with tree limbs, tore off singles and flooded streets from Tampa
Bay up to the Panhandle, but no major damage was immediately reported.
A small construction barge hit the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa
Bay, but not structural damage was reported. Statewide, about 21,000
homes and businesses were without power. Some streets were flooded near
Crystal River, where residents gathered in calf-deep water and dropped
sandbags in preparation for the afternoon high tide. A wind gust of 60
mph was reported in Tampa before dawn, while a gust of about 50 mph was
recorded to the north in Cedar Key, meteorologists said. Cedar Key City
Commissioner Pat O'Neal said he was cautiously optimistic for the
island village, but high tide there was also still a worry.
After splashing ashore in Florida without much punch, the remnants of
Tropical Storm Alberto churned northward Wednesday, bringing
much-needed rain to the Southeast but also spawning damaging tornadoes
on Wednesday. By early Wednesday, Alberto had weakened from a tropical
storm to a tropical depression over the Carolinas and all tropical
storm warnings were discontinued. But as it headed up the East Coast,
it still pushed nasty weather ahead of it. At least six small twisters
were reported in South Carolina, one in downtown Charleston that broke
car windows during the evening rush hour Tuesday and another that
caused injuries. Wind gusts over 40 mph knocked down trees and power
lines in three counties. And a flood watch was in effect for the
northeast part of the state, where hail and lightning strikes were
reported overnight. Two to 4 inches of rain were forecast for the
Carolinas and parts of Virginia, with heavier rain along the coast.
Alberto's winds were about 50 mph when it came ashore near Adams Beach,
FL, still strong enough to be a tropical storm, but well below the
74-mph threshold for a hurricane. At 11 a.m. Wednesday, its maximum
sustained winds were near 35 mph, 4 mph below tropical storm strength,
the National Hurricane Center said. Instead of a disaster, Alberto's
rainfall may turn out to be a blessing for Florida's efforts to battle
wildfires and for farmers in Georgia who were worried about drought.
Farmer Orson Adams, 65, was counting on the rain to help germinate the
cotton seeds he planted last month in Douglas, GA.

18th-24th...Torrential rainfall shut down Houston highways Monday and
flooded parts of southwest Louisiana, where more than 100 patients had
to be evacuated from a nursing home. As much as 10.5 inches of rain was
reported in the Houston area by the height of the morning rush hour,
said Rusty Cornelius, administrative coordinator for Harris County
Emergency Management. Almost 6 inches of rain fell in just 75 minutes
near Hobby Airport, the National Weather Service reported.
Feedback Interstate 10 and other major arteries in the Houston area
flooded.
Numerous school districts called off classes. Even Hobby Airport was
closed for more than 2 hours because employees couldn't get through the
flooded roadways to work. Much of the Houston region remained under a
flash flood warning at midday, with more rain expected. In Louisiana,
emergency crews evacuated more than 100 patients from Holly Hill
Nursing Home, where the water was a foot deep in the halls. Fire
departments from Sulfur and Lake Charles and two ambulance companies
were moving patients to another nursing home in Lake Charles, about 15
miles away, officials said. The same area was battered by Hurricane
Rita last September. On Monday, some houses in Sulphur, LA, were
flooded, and residents were urged to stay home unless there was an
emergency, Assistant Police Chief Glenn Berry said. Homes were reported
flooded in the Houston area, as well, Cornelius said. A YMCA building
was surrounded by water and people stood on its roof as helicopters
passed by. The Houston Fire Department reported about a dozen
high-water rescues of motorists in southeastern Houston, Cornelius
said. In some places, drivers tried to push stalled vehicles from
knee-deep water. Others couldn't even reach their vehicles as the water
rose to the doors.
The east had scattered showers and thunderstorms moved through the
western Tennessee Valley, the Middle Atlantic and the Southeast. Many
of these storms were severe with high winds, large hail, and locally
heavy rainfall. Golfball sized hail was reported in Mcleansville, North
Carolina. Some trees and power lines were reported down from these
storms in North Carolina as well, due to high winds. Many locations
received over inch of rain with minor to moderate flooding in some
areas. In the Northeast, scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms
developed as well. Most of these storms weren't severe, although gusty
winds and locally heavy rain did occur at times. In Boston,
Massachusetts, 1.01 inches of rain was reported. The rest of the region
remained under high pressure, which brought fair skies and dry
conditions. In the central Plains, scattered showers and thunderstorms
developed across the northern Plains. Some of these storms were severe
with reports of large hail and isolated tornadoes. In Westfield, North
Dakota, golfball sized hail fell. A tornado was reported in Lamoure
County, North Dakota. In the central and southern Plains scattered
showers and isolated thunderstorms were reported. None of these were
severe, although heavy rainfall was reported in many areas. McAlester,
Oklahoma, received 2.00 inches of rain today, with many other locations
receiving less than that. In the southern Rockies scattered showers and
thunderstorms were reported. These storms were not severe, although
frequent lightning and gusty winds were reported. Rainfall amounts were
generally light in most areas

25th-30th...Heavy rain and thunderstorms continued to drench much of
the East Coast from New England to Florida on Monday. Over one to three
inches of rain was reported from Leesburg, Florida, to Fryeburg, Maine.
Macon, Georgia, observed 3.76 inches of rain today. The rain continued
to enhance an already-significant flooding problem across the
Appalachians and the Northeast. Flood-swollen creeks, streams, and
rivers overran their banks and flooded roads and homes from South
Carolina to Vermont. Northern Virginia and Maryland experienced
particularly severe flash flooding today. Hundreds of roads were
closed, some washed out entirely, because of the flooding. Pennsylvania
and New York were also hit by significant flash-flooding. A nursing
home was flooded in Bethany, Pennsylvania, and a number of roads across
northern Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier of New York were closed
because of high water. Meanwhile, showers and locally strong
thunderstorms produced heavy rains, frequent lightning, and large hail
across Indiana and lower Michigan. Dry conditions were reported over
most of the western Southeast. In the central states, a line of showers
and locally severe thunderstorms rolled across Illinois, while a cold
front draped southward across the northern Plains and upper Mississippi
Valley, producing showers and thunderstorms across the region. Large
hail was reported across Illinois, with hail to two inches in diameter
observed near Mount Pulaski, Illinois. Heavy rain was reported across
parts of Minnesota, with localized rainfall amounts of over an inch
reported.
Torrential rains continued to fall in the Northeast on Wednesday,
especially in the heart of New England. Flood watches and warnings
remained in effect. The same system sparked showers and thunderstorms
along the Southeast coast. Thunderstorms also rumbled in Michigan and
the Ohio Valley. Storms in Michigan produced hail 1.25 inches across
and strong winds that toppled trees.
The East had partly to mostly cloudy skies along with scattered showers
and thunderstorms were found across portions of the Northeast, Great
Lakes, and the Ohio Valley. Some of these storms were severe, producing
sizeable hail, strong gusty winds, frequent lightning, and localized
brief heavy downpours. Chippewa Bay, New York, reported that a severe
storm covered the ground with hail and another severe storm was
reported to have produced a tornado in the town of Cheektowaga, New
York. Rainfall amounts were heaviest across coastal portions of the
Northeast with lesser amounts across the remainder of the region.
Further south, partly to mostly cloudy skies along with a few isolated
rain showers and thunderstorms were found across southern Florida and
across Alabama. The remainder of the region was under clear to partly
cloudy skies and dry conditions. In the mid-section of the United
States, partly to mostly cloudy skies along with scattered rain showers
and thunderstorms occurred across portions of the Northern Plains and
the upper and lower Mississippi Valleys. Some of these storms have been
severe, producing sizeable hail, strong gusty winds, frequent
lightning, and brief heavy downpours. Pea to penny size hail and
torrential rains were reported in Marengo, Iowa, while a storm produced
mostly pea size hail in Grenora, North Dakota. Further south, partly to
mostly cloudy skies along with isolated to scattered rain showers and
thunderstorms were found across portions of southern Texas. Localized
rainfall amounts in this area was heavy at times with rainfall totals
of over an inch around Leakey, Texas. The remainder of the mid-section
of the United States was under the influence of high pressure, which
brought clear to partly cloudy skies and dry conditions.