NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

APRIL 2009

1st-4th…The Northeast saw active weather on Friday as a strong low
pressure system moved up the Ohio River Valley. The system produced a
warm front that extended eastward over the Mid-Atlantic states and a
cold front that swept through the Southeast. Meanwhile, another
frontal boundary tracked over the Eastern Great Lakes region. These
fronts triggered periods of moderate to heavy rain and windy
conditions. Cayuta, New York reported 0.44 inches of rain while
Marianna, Pennsylvania reported 18 mph winds with gusts up to 38 mph.
To the south, Greensboro, North Carolina saw gusts up to 38 mph and
Cave Spring, Virginia saw 0.29 inches of rain. The Southeast saw light
rain in the early morning hours with total rainfall accumulation less
than a tenth of an inch. Meanwhile, a small ridge of high pressure
built in over the Plains on Friday. This allowed for a short break in
active weather as another low pressure system approached from the
West.

5th-11th…The nation's main weather events occurred over the Southeast
and the Central U.S. on Sunday. In the Southeast, strong to severe
convective activity developed over Georgia and Alabama. A residual
trough triggered numerous bands of rainfall, thunderstorms, high
winds, hail, and tornadoes. Thus far, there have been 3 tornado
reports from southern Georgia, numerous reports of hail from Alabama
and Georgia, and 1 strong wind report from southwestern Georgia.
Tornadoes were spotted in Berrien, Atkinson, and Pierce counties. In
the central U.S., another storm system produced strong convective
activity across Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Moderate to heavy
rainfall and isolated thunderstorms developed across the states as the
system trekked eastward through southern Illinois. Storms that
extended from Illinois to western Kentucky produced brief periods of
torrential rains, gusty winds, and small hail. Strong convective
activity caused areas of southeastern Illinois, southern Indiana, and
western Kentucky to be placed under a Tornado Watch.
An early spring snowstorm dumped almost 8 inches on some parts of
Michigan and was blamed Monday for at least four deaths and a power
outage affecting about 123,000 people. The weather and the snowy,
slushy conditions it brought to Michigan roads was a "major factor" in
a two-vehicle crash Monday in Reading Township at the southern
boundary of the state that left three people dead, two of them
children, said Capt. Carl Albright of the Hillsdale County Sheriff's
Office. Catherine Marie Harris, 39, of Reading was pronounced dead at
a hospital after the crash, and her two minor children were pronounced
dead at the scene. Albright declined to release the children's names,
ages or genders. The driver of the other vehicle was treated and
released, Albright said. Farther north in Eaton County's Benton
Township, 35-year-old Matthew Dupree of Mulliken was pronounced dead
at the scene of an accident involving two minivans. The other driver
was taken to a nearby hospital and her name and status was not
available. About 123,000 people lost power as snow began falling
Sunday night into midday Monday. About 57,000 DTE Energy Co. customers
were affected by the storm, and 33,000 were still blacked out by
Monday afternoon, said spokesman Scott Simons. CMS Energy Corp. says
more than 66,000 of its customers were blacked out, with about 32,000
still without service Monday afternoon. The snowstorm, coming more
than two weeks into spring, dumped 7.8 inches on Oakland County's
White Lake Township, 7 inches on Elba and 6.7 inches on Romulus,
according to the National Weather Service.
The town of Mena, Arkansas, looked like a "war zone" Friday after a
tornado roared through, killing three people and damaging or
destroying more than 100 homes, an Arkansas official said. "It looks
like a war zone out here," said James Reeves of emergency management
in Polk County, Arkansas. "It looks like a war zone out here," said
James Reeves of emergency management in Polk County, Arkansas.
Soldiers from the Arkansas National Guard went house to house,
searching for victims of the twister that hit Thursday night, said
Capt. Christopher Heathscott. About 50 soldiers also helped with
security and food distribution. Gov. Mike Beebe planned to fly over
Mena on Friday afternoon. Mena, population 6,000, took a heavy hit on
the west side of town, as the storm swept through downtown before
heading up state Highway 71, said Tommy Jackson from the state
Department of Emergency Management. "It looks like a war zone out
here," said James Reeves, also from the department. The tornado
damaged the county hospital, Mena City Hall, a middle school,
churches, a library, the Masonic lodge and the courthouse -- which
houses the 911 emergency dispatch center and a detention center,
Reeves said. He said electricity and gas were out in the western half
of the city.
The most dangerous weather activity roared through the East as a low
pressure system progressed from the Middle Mississippi Valley through
the Tennessee Valley. A tremendous amount of moisture streamed ahead
of the storm's associated cold front and instigated dangerous weather
including severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the Southeast.
Multiple tornadoes formed in a wide swath of the Tennessee Valley and
caused a lot of damage in the area. These tornadoes do not include a
tornado that roared through Arkansas earlier in the life of the
storm.

12th-18th…The Eastern U.S. saw severe weather again on Monday as an
intense storm system moved across the Mid- and Lower Mississippi River
Valley. This system pulled warm and moist air in from the Gulf of
Mexico and created a warm front that moved trough southern Alabama and
Georgia. As this front tracked eastward throughout the day, it
produced strong winds, heavy downpours, hail, and 3 tornadoes. In
Baxley, Georgia, a tornado caused major damage to homes and produced
nickel sized hail. Meanwhile, 3.59 inches of rain was reported in
Samson, Alabama and quarter sized hail and wind gusts up to 55 mph
were reported in Blountstown, Florida. Just to the north, the low
pressure system created another warm front that tracked up the Ohio
River Valley. This front produced a wide area of heavy rain and large
hail. Medora, Indiana saw 0.62 inches of new rainfall. This system
also triggered light rain over the Upper Great Lakes region with no
significant accumulation reported.
A strong line of storms spawned at least three tornadoes
Tuesday as it tore across central Florida, scattering roof shingles,
uprooting trees and forcing schools to evacuate children from trailer
classrooms. No injuries were immediately reported and the storms
eventually moved off Florida's Atlantic coast. It was the latest round
of bad weather to hammer the South after heavy rain and strong winds
Monday that hit Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and northern
Florida, already reeling from storms and tornadoes last week. The
National Weather Service was still tallying damage information, but
initial reports were that three tornadoes had touched down north of
Tampa and two others may have struck in central and east Florida.
Twenty Florida counties were under a tornado watch for much of the
day. "To our knowledge, there's been no true structure damage and no
injuries," said Jim Martin, Emergency Management Director for Pasco
County north of Tampa, where at least one twister was spotted Tuesday
morning, Martin said high winds damaged about 25 homes and flipped
over one car. Students were evacuated from trailer classrooms at some
Tampa-area schools. In central Florida, authorities reported no
injuries but said the some homes were damaged, trees were toppled,
roofing was blown off and power lines were downed. A train also struck
a fallen tree on tracks in Marion County but did not derail, though
some of its windows shattered. Randi Cecil, 24, was on her porch in
the town of Sparr, about 90 miles north of Orlando, when the wind
turned gusty and trees started swaying. Then a tree cracked so loud
that it sounded like a car crash and smashed into her neighbor's
bedroom. "It was the most horrible feeling I ever went through," Cecil
said. Progress Energy spokesman Tim Leljedal said more 70,000
customers experienced a power outage, mostly in the Ocala area in
central Florida and in southern Pasco County, just north of Tampa.
About 14,500 were still without power by late Tuesday afternoon. The
storms also passed through the Orlando area but no significant damage
was immediately reported. Atlanta-area crews were still clearing up
fallen trees and working to restore power and traffic lights after
squalls Monday pushed through Georgia. Thousands of utility customers
in Georgia and Alabama were waiting for power to come back on.
The most active weather occurred in the middle portion of the country
Friday as a developing low pressure system moved out of the Southern
Rockies and into the Plains. This storm pulled considerable moisture
into the Plains from the Gulf of Mexico. This moisture produced
widespread heavy rain associated with strong thunderstorms in Texas
and Oklahoma. These thunderstorms produced large hail in Texas and
instigated Tornado Watches in southeastern Texas. This activity was on
the verge of moving into Louisiana and Missouri by the late afternoon.
No tornadoes were reported by late afternoon, but development remained
possible. In the cooler air behind the storm, significant snow fell in
the southern half of the Rockies. Moderate rain also fell in the
Central Plains from Kansas through Nebraska.
More than a foot of wet, heavy snow closed highways and canceled
flights in parts of Colorado and Wyoming on Friday, snarling traffic
and forcing school closures and flight cancellations. Up to 3 feet of
snow was expected by Saturday night in the mountains above 6,000 feet,
forecasters said. Nearly 2 feet already had fallen in Rocky Mountain
National Park about 60 miles northwest of Denver. The chilly weather
forced a return to heavy coats and snow boots for some who already had
packed away their winter clothes. "I cannot get used to this snow,"
said Myra Gonzalez, 25, who moved to Denver from Southern California
two years ago. She usually drives to work but opted for the bus after
seeing heavy flakes outside.
"Now I'm stuck on the bus. I didn't even want to mess with it," the
customer-service worker said. The storm was welcomed at ski areas,
though, where the economic downturn has reduced bookings more than 8
percent from last year at some resorts. On Friday, the slopes were
packed with late-season skiers and snowboarders taking their final
runs of the season. Most resorts close Sunday. "This is why we live
here, to have the slopes to ourselves in April," said Kristen Petitt,
spokeswoman at Colorado's most-visited resort, Breckenridge. The storm
was not without headaches, though. A 140-mile stretch of Interstate 80
and many smaller roads in Wyoming were closed. A 30-mile stretch of
Interstate 25 from Wellington, Colo., to Cheyenne, WY, was closed
briefly. Authorities had no immediate reports of serious injuries, but
a snow plow driver suffered minor injuries late Thursday when his
truck rolled down a snowpacked embankment on Red Mountain in
southwestern Colorado. A motorist freed him. Parts of central and
southern Wyoming were under a winter storm warning. Federal courts and
city offices were closed in Cheyenne, where at least 14 inches were
predicted. The Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne canceled an Earth Day
celebration planned for Saturday. Denver and Colorado Springs were
expecting 10 to 20 inches of snow by Saturday night. Many suburban
Denver schools closed early on Friday. United Airlines, the dominant
carrier at Denver International Airport, canceled 76 flights. The
airport urged travelers to check with their airlines before leaving
home. A spring storm last month stranded hundreds of passengers
overnight. Snow also delayed a bus convoy carrying 60 prisoners from
Oklahoma to Wyoming. The Wyoming Department of Corrections said the
convoy had to stop a few miles into Wyoming on Thursday night because
of traffic backups. The medium-security prisoners were waiting out the
storm at a county jail in Laramie before continuing to a state prison
in Rawlins, said department spokesman Carl Voigtsberger. In Texas,
thunderstorms moved through northern areas Friday. Thursday night,
hail was so heavy in parts of west Texas that a stretch of Interstate
27 was shut down so snowplows could clear it away. At least four
tornadoes touched down in west Texas on Thursday. No injuries were
reported.

19th-25th…Significant weather hit the Eastern US on Monday while the
Western US saw record breaking high temperatures. A low pressure
system tracked up the Ohio River Valley and into Eastern Great Lakes
region. The system produced a frontal boundary that triggered moderate
rainfall over the region with 0.64 inches reported in Lancaster, West
Virginia. The system also produced hail over the Mid-Atlantic States.
In Norview, Virginia, one inch in diameter hail was reported. To the
north, the back side of this system pulled cold air into the Upper
Great Lakes.

26th-30th…Severe weather with heavy rain, strong winds, and hail hit
the Southern and Central Plains on Monday. A strong low pressure
system moved off the Rockies and into the Plains, which created a
strong cold front that triggered showers and thunderstorms that
stretched from Chicago into Texas. Clayton Lake, Texas reported 1.12
inches of new rainfall, while Wakarusa, Kansas saw 0.77 inches of
rain. Pea to quarter sized hail fell over Stillwater, Oklahoma, and
strong winds blew part of a roof off in Corsicana, Texas. The front
brought cool conditions to these areas as it passed and dropped
temperatures by 10 to 15 degrees in some places.
Severe weather developed over the Southern Plains while areas of heavy
snow fell over the Northern Rockies on Wednesday. A low pressure
system over the Northern and Central Rockies pulled moist and warm
conditions from the Gulf of Mexico into the Central and Southern
Plains. These conditions were favorable for scattered showers and
thunderstorm development that turned into severe storms over the
Oklahoma and Texas border. A tornado watch has been issued but
tornadoes have not yet been reported. In Hamlin, Texas, however, half-
dollar sized hail was reported while strong winds blew trees onto
power lines and caused power outages in areas of Oklahoma. Also, heavy
downpours hit the region with 3.84 inches of rain reported in
Overbrook, Oklahoma. To the west, the back side of this low pressure
system pulled cool air in from Canada which created a cold front over
the Northern Rockies. This caused temperatures to drop into the 20s
and allowed for heavy snow over Montana. New snowfall accumulation
ranged from 3 to 7 inches while blowing snow was also an issue with
gusts up to 32 mph reported in Hays, Montana. The system also
triggered scattered showers over the Northern Rockies with less than a
half of an inch of rain reported in Harvey, North Dakota.