NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

NOVEMBER 2008

1st-8th…Hail and high winds struck the Plains on Wednesday as strong
cold front swept through the region in the afternoon. A local TV
station in Oklahoma reported hail stones 2 and a half inches in
diameter in Piedmont OK, while winds up to 70 mph were reported in the
state. In addition to the damaging winds and hail reported in the
region additional storms brought brief heavy rain and gusty winds to
the region from Texas to the western Great Lakes. In the Northern
Plains, a strong low pressure system brought more steady rain to the
region, with some snow reported in the region. Gusty north winds blew
behind the storm system and brought chilly temperatures to Montana and
Wyoming. Wet weather was also reported in the Northwest where a
Pacific storm system slammed into the coast of Oregon. Heavy rain was
reported near the California border, and snowflakes flew in the high
elevations of Northern CA.
Wintry conditions wreak havoc in northern Plains
A wintry blast of punishing wind and more than 3 feet of snow in
places pummeled the Northern Plains on Thursday, knocking out power to
thousands and forcing highways to close. As much as 40 inches of snow
fell in higher elevations of western South Dakota's Black Hills as the
early season blizzard caused havoc. Drifts as deep as 6 feet covered
roads in Spearfish. "It's a raging blizzard out there," said Jeff
Schild, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in
Rapid City.
Weather problems halted or disrupted traffic on Interstates 80, 90 and
94 in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Wyoming. In Rapid City, a wind gust of
78 mph was measured late Wednesday, and gusts of 60 mph were still
being reported Thursday morning. More than 10,000 customers lost power
at some point in Nebraska and South Dakota. In North Dakota, parts of
Dunn County received about 9 inches of snow, the Weather Service said.
"The wind is blowing so hard it's hard to tell how much snow we got,"
said Terry Sarlsland, street superintendent in Bowman, N.D. "We got 4-
foot drifts in some places." Sharon Gjermundson, a postmaster in
Taylor, N.D., said that about a foot of snow kept her from punching in
at work Thursday, and that she and her husband were worried about
their livestock.

9th-15th…The main weather event took place over the Central and
Southern Plains today. A low pressure system over the Southwest
advanced eastward over the Plains this afternoon. As the system
progressed, moisture from the Gulf of Mexico fueled convective
activity. The storm system produced heavy amounts of rainfall and
strong to severe thunderstorms over Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Large
hail and strong damaging winds were associated with storms over
Oklahoma and Kansas. Thus far, there have been two reports of hail.
The first was reported in Tillman County, Oklahoma near Grandfield,
while the second came from Stanton County, Kansas. Stanton county
reported pea to quarter size hail near Johnson City. The county also
reported a large tornado sighting about 4 to 5 miles northwest of
Johnson City. Thus far no associated damages have been reported.
Central Texas has been placed under a tornado watch due to severe
storm development.
A series of cold fronts swept through the Mississippi Valley on
Wednesday and brought heavy rain and thunderstorms to the region. The
first frontal system drew abundant moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to
drop heavy rains along the Gulf Coast. Southern Mississippi and
Louisiana saw up to an inch of rain Wednesday. Further north, the
second of the two fronts produced wet weather from Missouri and
Arkansas up the Ohio river into the Great Lakes and Central
Appalachians. The Northwest saw more vigorous precipitation as a cold
front moved off the Pacific into the region. heavy rain was reported
up to around 8000 feet with snow above that level.
As a tornado ripped through his North Carolina neighborhood, Curt
Jernigan huddled in his bathroom, praying for the raging winds to
spare him on Saturday. When Jernigan emerged from the home, he met a
neighbor, his face covered in blood, who pleaded with him to help
search for his wife. She had gone missing in the confusion of the
storm. The 41-year-old Jernigan agreed to help out, but said he knew
the effort to find the woman alive would be fruitless. "When I saw
what he had in his yard, I knew it wasn't going to be a rescue _ it
was a recovery. It's just devastation," Jernigan said. His grim
thought proved correct. State police said his neighbor, Maryland
Gomez, who was in her 60s, was one of two people killed by tornadoes
and severe weather that swept across central North Carolina early
Saturday. Gomez's body was found amid the rubble that was once her
home in Kenly, a community about 35 miles southeast of Raleigh, said
state police spokeswoman Patty McQuillan. In neighboring Wilson
County, authorities said a child also was killed. Several people were
injured in the cluster of strong storms that hit some six counties.
The only thing left standing of Gomez's home was her front porch, one
of at least a half-dozen houses destroyed by the storms that also
knocked down trees and power lines. Residents emerged at daybreak to
find their homes in ruins, cars flipped over and debris strewn about.

16th-22nd…A low pressure system tracked across the Great Lakes on
Wednesday and triggered light lake effect snow in the northern regions
of Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania. A few inches of
snow fell in Boyne City, Michigan MI, while higher elevations of
Michigan's Upper Peninsula saw 8 to 10 inches of snow.
Cold air flowing into the Great Lakes in combination with
northwesterly winds provided steady lake effect snow on the east side
of the Great Lakes on Friday. Upwards of a foot of snow fell in some
areas from the Ohio Valley through western New York. Cold air
encompassed much of the northeastern portion of the country.