NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY

APRIL 2008


1st-5th…In the East, gusty winds have been plaguing portions of New
England through the day. Winds have gusted as high as 55 mph in
Frenchville, Maine. Conditions are dry in that region as well as
across the rest of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and into parts of
the Southeast. Isolated thunderstorms developed during the morning in
southern Florida with more in the way of the activity expected near
the Gulf Coast during the afternoon. Across the central portion of the
country, much of the wet weather has occurred over the Southern Plains
and Lower Mississippi Valley so far today. Showers and thunderstorms
have been observed from parts of Oklahoma down into Texas eastward
into Arkansas and Louisiana. There have been locally heavy downpours
and storms later in the afternoon may approach severe limits with
gusty winds and large hail the main threats. Meanwhile, conditions
have been mostly dry up through the Central Plains, Mid-Mississippi
Valley and into the Great Lakes. It was a cold start to the morning in
Marquette, Michigan where a record low of 3 degrees was set. Across
eastern sections of the Northern Plains and into the Upper Midwest,
light rain and snow has been reported but any accumulations have been
very spotty and light.
In the West, a storm system has brought wet weather to portions of the
coast. Scattered showers have occurred over central parts of
California. Over the rest of the region it has been a dry day so far
but it did start out chilly with a few record lows in northern and
central Oregon, including in Mitchell where readings bottomed out at
18 degrees.
Yesterday in the East, gusty winds were recorded across the Northeast.
Frenchville, Maine recorded a gust of 56 mph, North Adams, MA reported
51, and Landgrove, VT recorded a gust of 50 mph. Skies were partly
cloudy to mostly clear and dry over the Northeast and Great Lakes
regions. To the south, scattered showers and thunderstorms developed
across the Southeast and Deep South. Wind damage occurred in Apopka,
FL. Clouds increased across the Tennessee Valley throughout the day as
showers crossed into the region. The heaviest rainfall totals were
reported in Florida. Over the central region, another wave of showers
and thunderstorms developed along the Red River Valley of Oklahoma and
Texas and pushed across the Mississippi River. A second wave of
showers and thunderstorms developed in southwestern Oklahoma and moved
into the Ozarks. Light snow showers fell over northern Minnesota and
the eastern Dakotas while light rain developed in eastern Nebraska.
Skies were partly to mostly cloudy in the Midwest. Across the West,
rain showers continued over central and southern California. Reported
rainfall amounts were generally less than 0.25". Light rain and
showers fell in the Great Basin and central Rockies, but snowfall was
generally light. Skies were mostly clear and sunny in the northern and
southern Rockies, Pacific Northwest, and Desert Southwest. Record lows
were set again over the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin.

6th-12th…In the East, a low pressure system with its cold front pushed
through the Florida Peninsula early Monday and triggered moderate to
strong showers and thunderstorms. The rest of the Southeast and
portions of Mid-Atlantic saw mainly light rains. By noon, much of the
precipitation ceased, but broken to overcast clouds remained
throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Some clouds also spread
northward into southern New England in the afternoon. In the mid-
section of the nation, a storm system in the Upper Midwest continued
to move northeast and spread snow and rain across the Upper Midwest
and Upper Great Lakes. In addition, a new system moved out of the
Rockies and brought snow and rain to the Central and Southern Plains
Monday. Hail up to an inch fell over southeastern Kansas and far
northern-central Texas in the afternoon.
Out West, widely scattered snow and low elevation rain showers
persisted across the Intermountain West and Rockies on Monday. Periods
of heavy snow even occurred over the Colorado Rockies. Moreover, moist
onshore flow kept scattered rain and mountain snow showers going in
the Pacific Northwest. Otherwise, it was a beautiful spring day across
the southwestern states Monday. Plenty of sunshine helped temperatures
rising into the 70s and 80s inland in the afternoon.
The country's main weather producer was a strong low pressure system
that moved through the Great Lakes and into southeastern China. A
mixture of snow on the backside of the low and heavy rain and
thunderstorms on the front side of the low moved through the Great
Lakes with the low pressure center. Meanwhile, the long cold front
arched through the Mississippi Valley and into the Southern Plains.
Moisture pooled along this front and produced heavy rain and
thunderstorms, especially in the Mississippi Valley and Southern
Plains. There was at least one report of a tornado in central Texas
along with several reports of damaging hail from the strong
thunderstorms. Scattered showers also moved into New England in the
afternoon as the warm front moved into the region. Meanwhile, another
storm moved into the Rockies and instigated widespread light rain and
snow showers in the Great Basin and Rockies. The Northeast rose into
the 50s and 60s, while the Southeast saw temperatures in the 70s and
80s. The Great Lakes rose into the 40s and 50s, while the Northwest
saw temperatures in the 40s and 50s.
Very active weather continued across the Central U.S. Friday's as a
storm system over the Central Plains slowly moved northeast.
Widespread snow showers developed on the back side of the system
extending across the Central and Northern Plains as well as the Upper
Midwest. A swath of moderate to heavy snow fell throughout northern
Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In addition,
strong winds led to whiteout conditions, drifting snow, and blizzard
conditions. Apart from that, moderate to heavy rain with areas of
freezing rain spread across southern New England and northern Mid-
Atlantic. The storm system's cold front triggered intense showers and
thunderstorms across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys as well as
southeastern Texas and Lower Mississippi Valley. Tornadoes pounded
through portions of Tennessee and Kentucky. Moreover, large hail up to
baseball size fell across Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and
Alabama. High winds also caused large trees and powerlines down. Over
the Intermountain West and Rockies, the residual Pacific moisture
triggered more snow showers with lower elevation rain across the
region Friday. Areas of heavy snow even occurred over the Colorado
Rockies. Out West, quiet the opposite, a beautiful spring day
prevailed as a strong ridge of high pressure built across the eastern
Pacific and West Coast. Plenty of sunshine helped temperature climbing
to the 60s and 70s with 80s and 90s in the Desert Southwest.

13th-19th…A large area of low pressure system remained across the
Eastern U.S. Monday, with a weak cold front across the Florida
Peninsula. This resulted in widely scattered rain showers across the
Mid-Atlantic, portions of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, and the
Southeast coast. Snow showers fell over parts of the Central
Appalachians and northern New England. Apart from the precipitation, a
pool of cool air lingered from the Mississippi Valley to the coast,
with the exception of the Florida Peninsula. Temperatures were mainly
in the 40s and 50s only, which were about 10 to 15 degrees below
normal. Out West, Monday was quiet a change after a brief taste of
summer over weekend. This dramatic cooling was due to a cold front
that moved through the Northwest and Northern California, and the
marine layer pushed back to the shore Monday morning. The most cooling
occurred in the coastal region, which were 20 to 25 degrees colder
than Sunday. It was less in the valleys, only 5 to 10 degrees colder.
The Desert Southwest, on the other hand, experienced another hot day,
with temperatures soaring into the 90s again in the afternoon. A
Pacific front caused light to moderate rain and high elevation snow
from the Pacific Northwest and far northern California across the
northern Intermountain West and Rockies. Areas of heavy snow fell over
the Cascades. In the mid-section of the nation, a ridge of high
pressure dominated across the region Monday. Mild and sunny weather
prevailed throughout the Plains.
A long, arching cold front stretching from the Northern Plains through
the Four Corners continued moving eastward and southward Wednesday. By
late afternoon, the frontal boundary stretched from the Upper Midwest
through the Southern Plains. This feature mainly lacked moisture for
most of the day, but was expected to gather some Gulf of Mexico
moisture in the evening. Thus, only scattered showers were noted along
the front and some precipitation developed behind the front in the
Rocky Mountains and Northern Plains. A tight pressure gradient ahead
of the front instigated strong winds from the Great Lakes through the
Southern Plains. A high pressure system along the East Coast produced
dry weather from the Northeast through the Southeast Coast. Dry
conditions were noted in the Northwest as a high pressure system
nudged into the region from the Pacific Ocean. The Northeast rose into
the 60s and 70s, while the Southeast saw similar temperatures. The
Southern Plains rose into the 80s and 90s, while the Northern Rockies
saw temperatures only in the 30s and 40s.

20th-26th…Across the East, a low pressure system continued to meander
over eastern North Carolina and it spread scattered to numerous
showers and thunderstorms northward to the Delmarva Peninsula. Rain
has been heavy at times including early this morning as downpours
caused flooding which closed roads in the Virginia cities of Mount
Vernon and Gleedsville. Thunderstorms have produced nickel sized hail
near Newport, North Carolina, late in the morning. The clouds from
this system extend into the Lower Great Lakes region with generally
mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies observed elsewhere over the
eastern half of the country. Over the central portion of the country,
scattered rain showers and thunderstorms pushed across the eastern
Dakotas into western Minnesota. Behind the wet weather, there was a
brief changeover to snow and some freezing rain over central North
Dakota with no accumulation early this morning. Elsewhere dry
conditions have occurred across the remainder of the region.
In the West, numerous record lows were set in portions of the northern
Rockies this morning. Cities like Billings and Miles City in Montana,
Sheridan in Wyoming and Bountiful and Cedar City in Utah came in with
temperatures that had never been lower on this date. In Great Falls,
Montana, not only was a record low set but it was also the latest in
the year in recorded history that they observed a below zero reading
with a morning low of -8. Otherwise, a low pressure trough produced
coastal rain showers and snow showers from the Pacific Northwest to
the northern High Plains. Snow accumulations were generally at 1-2
inches, especially above 4,000 feet in elevation. Meanwhile across
from the Southwest through the Four Corners, dry conditions occurred.
A long, arching frontal system stretched from the Southern Plains
through the Ohio Valley on Wednesday. This front marked the most
active weather in the country Wednesday. A tremendous amount of
moisture pooled around the southern portion of the front and
instigated widespread heavy rain and thunderstorms from northern Texas
through Kansas. These widespread thunderstorms produced large hail and
even at least one tornado in central Texas. This activity is expected
to continue into the late afternoon and evening. The northern edge of
the front moved into the Northeast and produced scattered areas of
showers in western New England. A few showers are expected along the
Southeast Coast, but the rest of the Southeast was dry. In the West,
scattered rain and high elevation snow persisted in the Northwest and
into Northern California. Some showers even moved into the
Intermountain West. The Northeast rose into the 70s, while the
Southeast saw temperatures in the 70s, 80s, and some 90s. The
Southwest rose into the 70s and 80s, while the Northwest saw
temperatures in the 40s and 50s.
An intense low pressure system moved through the Central Plains and
into the Upper Midwest while strengthening considerably. A
precipitation shield formed ahead of the storm and produced heavy rain
and thunderstorms from Nebraska to Wisconsin, while also producing a
mixture of rain and snow in the Dakotas. There was at least one report
of a tornado in southern Iowa and several reports of hail from
northern Missouri through southern Wisconsin and Michigan. Farther to
the south, a thin line of thunderstorms formed along the storm's
associated cold front as it moved through the Plains towards the
Mississippi Valley. The severe weather threat continued into the late
afternoon from eastern Texas through southern Wisconsin. Scattered
areas of showers moved through the Ohio Valley and Southeast, while
additional rain and snow showers formed in patches over Montana. The
rest of the West remained dry. The Northeast rose into the 70s, while
the Southeast saw temperatures into the 80s. The Southern Plains rose
into the 80s and 90s, while the Northern Plains sawa temperatures in
the 30s and 40s. The Northwest rose itno the 40s and 50s.

27th-30th…Monday’s active weather occurred across the Eastern U.S. as
a complex frontal system pushed eastward from the lower Great Lakes as
well as the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Widespread showers and
thunderstorms developed from the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys across the
East Coast. In particular, strong to severe thunderstorms with
numerous tornadoes and high winds pounded through eastern North
Carolina, eastern Virginia and southern Maryland as well as northern
Florida. Many mobile homes were blown off foundations and powerlines
and large trees were damaged and knocked down. Apart from that, flash
flooding occurred over portions of the New England due to heavy
rainfall. Behind this front, a much colder system dropped southeast
from the upper Midwest, which resulted in morning snow showers in
portions of Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan. Green Bay
even broke the daily snowfall record. Big wet snow flakes pounded
through the region for several hours Monday morning, with the snowfall
total of 1.3 inches. This broke the daily snowfall record of 0.8
inches in 1907. In addition, this system also caused scattered showers
and thunderstorms to fall in the mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. Out
West, cool and wet weather pattern returned to the Northwest Monday
after a brief taste of summer over weekend. This was due to a cold
front that pushed through the Northwest, and the marine layer pushed
back to the shore Monday morning. The most cooling occurred in the
coastal region, which were 10 to 15 degrees colder than Sunday. The
Southern California away from the coast, on the other hand,
experienced another hot day, with temperatures soaring into the 90s in
the afternoon once again.
High pressure system swept through the eastern third of the country
and signaled a change in the country's active weather to the west. The
high pressure system brought dry conditions east of the Mississippi
Valley.
In contrast, several low pressure systems streaked through the West
and provided a variety of weather. One of these low pressure systems
moved through the Central Rockies and was on the verge of moving into
the Plains by late afternoon. This low was mainly lacking in any
significant moisture. A second low pressure system moved through the
Intermountain West and into the Northern Plains. The storm's
associated cold front streaked through the Northern Rockies and Great
Basin. Cold air behind the front produced scattered rain and high
elevation snow through this region. Onshore flow also produced some
showers in western Washington and Oregon. The active weather in the
West also instigated widespread windy conditions from Southern
California through the Southern Plains. This wind combined with low
humidity and produced fire weather for a wide swath of the country
from southern Arizona through the western Plains. The Northeast rose
into the 40s and 50s, while the Southeast saw temperatures in the 70s
and 80s. The Plains saw a range of temperatures from the 60s to the
90s. The Northwest rose into the 40s and 50s.