Associated Press - August 31, 2008 2:53 PM ET
NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY:
Across the East, shower and thunderstorm bands from Hurricane Gustav moving over the central Gulf of Mexico continued to affect the southern half of Florida. Within 1 of the feeder bands there was a tornado sighting in rural western Miami-Dade County just after dawn but no damage was reported. Rain has been heavy as well amounting to over one inch. Showers and thunderstorms were more scattered in nature to the north into southern Georgia and the Low Country of South Carolina, eastern New York and into southeastern Virginia through midday. Winds outside of the rain have been gusty on the west coast of Florida and the Florida Keys with gusts very early this morning as high as 52 mph at Key West. Meanwhile, high pressure in control over the Great Lakes, Mississippi and Ohio Valley areas and into portions of the Northeast resulting in dry conditions.
In the central portion of the country, mostly quiet conditions occurred under an area of high pressure. A few showers moved across the Texas Coast through midday with amounts generally around or less than two-tenths of an inch. There were some heavy downpours in far west Texas as moisture continued to stream in from Mexico. Elsewhere it was windy over the central and northern Plains. So far today winds have gusted to just over 45 mph in central Nebraska and into southern South Dakota.
In the West, scattered showers and thunderstorms continued to stream northward across Four Corners, portions of the Great Basin and through the central and northern Rockies. Storms were severe very early this morning with dime sized hail reported in Deer Lodge, Montana and hail was one inch deep on the ground in Georgetown, Montana. Near an inch of rain has fallen so far today in northern Montana. Meanwhile, locally heavy downpours have occurred further to the south in areas north of the Grand Canyon and into southwestern Utah with around an inch of rain. It was a chilly start to the morning with frost and freeze conditions over interior portions of Washington and Oregon. The cooler air was being brought in by blustery winds that gusted to 35 mph from the Northwest down into the Sierras in California.
WEATHER EXTREMES SO FAR TODAY:
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).............93 Angleton, TX
HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F).............103 Angleton, TX
LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)..............30 Redmond, OR
LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)...............30 Redmond, OR
HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).....................52 Key West, FL
HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)............1.47 Kendall, FL
ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:
In 1915, the low temperature at Bartlesville, Oklahoma dropped to 38 degrees, which was the coldest temperature ever recorded in the state for the month of August.
In 1989, baseball sized hail fell in Saint Michael, Minnesota and Hutchinson, Minnesota. Also, thunderstorms produced nine inches of rain around Moose Lake in Minnesota in only six hours.
In 1993, Hurricane Emily produced winds of 98 mph at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and dumped 7.51 inches of rain.
DTN-Meteorlogix/M Smith
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