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FLOODING RAINS CONTINUE IN FLORIDA -- Numerous thunderstorms continued along the remnants of an old stationary front that lay across South Florida on Tuesday. Excessive rainfall totals for the storm duration through late Tuesday night included as much as 15 inches in some locations in the Miami-Dade County metropolitan area. The 3.52 inches of rain that fell at Key West on Tuesday set a new daily precipitation record, while Melbourne in east central Florida received a daily record 2.34 inches of rain. As of late Tuesday night a distinct area of low pressure was located near Lake Okeechobee, with a large area of rain and thunderstorms extending from the Florida Keys across south Florida and out onto the adjacent waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Earlier, some of the thunderstorms over Florida Bay near Key West contained winds that reached at least 40 mph. A waterspout was detected by Doppler radar off the Atlantic coast near Indian Harbor Beach.
Heavy rain, with amounts ranging between 2 to 4 inches, could fall by Wednesday evening along the Atlantic coast of Florida, from Miami northward to Daytona Beach. Flash flood warnings were in effect for southern Florida, to include the Miami-Dade County metropolitan area and several of the Keys, while flash flood watches were posted for the east central counties northward to near St. Augustine.
A ZONE OF CONTRAST -- A cold front that moved southward across the northern half of the country earlier Tuesday stalled by late evening. This east-west oriented frontal boundary separated relatively chilly air to the north from air that had near record high temperatures to the south and east. Across the Middle Atlantic States, the front remained a cold front that trailed from a low pressure center in Labrador. From the Ohio Valley westward to Kansas and then southwestward to the Texas Panhandle, the front was essentially a stationary front with several regions of low pressure. The stationary front turned northwestward and paralleled the eastern slopes of the Rockies into western Canada.
Chilly air was found across the northern tier of states, extending from the Pacific Northwest to the upper Mississippi Valley. Along the Canadian border in Montana, afternoon high temperatures on Tuesday were between 20 to 25 degrees below the long-term average high temperatures for the date.
For much of the country south of the front, afternoon high temperatures were above the climatological average high temperatures for early October. The one exception was in south Florida, where the extensive clouds and heavy rains suppressed the high temperatures, resulting in lower than average highs. The Southern Plains, especially across Kansas, Oklahoma and west Texas, had high temperatures that were 20 to 25 degrees above the average. Record high temperatures were also found in this region, as daily records were either tied or set in Texas at Wichita Falls (102 degrees), Lubbock (100 degrees), Amarillo (99 degrees), Midland (99 degrees), El Paso (94 degrees). The highs at Amarillo and Lubbock established new October monthly high temperature records, while Wichita Falls tied the October record. Records were also tied or set at Hobart, OK (102 degrees), Joplin, MO (89 degrees) and at Winslow, AZ (90 degrees).
Before the front passed, several locations in New England set record high temperatures, to include in Maine at Portland (80 degrees) and Bangor (77 degrees) and at Bridgeport, CT (80 degrees).
The front should remain stretched across the eastern half of the country through Wednesday. Some north-south deviation is expected as low pressure centers develop along the front and move toward the east.
ACTIVE WEATHER ACROSS THE MIDWEST -- The front also served as a focal point for some active weather. Thunderstorms that developed along the front became severe as they produced large hail and damaging winds from Iowa into western Illinois late Tuesday afternoon and early evening. Some of the hail in western Iowa was as large as 1.5 inches in diameter. Winds reached an observed 92 mph near La Salle, IL. As of late Tuesday night, a large area of precipitation, to include rain and imbedded thunderstorms was found across Lower Michigan, northern Indiana, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Several other weaker and more scattered precipitation areas were detected in the western Plains.
On Wednesday, most of the precipitation is expected to move eastward along the front. Between 0.5 to 1 inch of rain is expected by Wednesday evening along the front from northern Illinois eastward into northern Ohio.
YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE EXTREMES ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL US --Tuesday morning's lowest temperature was 16 degrees at Whitefish, MT, while the highest temperature on Tuesday was 107 degrees at Bullhead City, AZ.
ALASKAN WEATHER -- A large ridge of high pressure centered over the Yukon Territory extended westward into interior Alaska on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in relatively cloud-free conditions from the Seward Peninsula eastward to the Alcan border and southeastward to the Panhandle. A low pressure system with an accompanying frontal system over the Arctic Ocean spread clouds south to the Brooks Range. Snow fell at Barrow and Wainwright and other locations on the North Slope. With a temperature of 16 degrees, winds at Barrow during the midafternoon produced a wind-chill equivalent temperature of 1 degree below zero. An occluding or weakening storm system over the eastern Bering Sea and Bristol Bay with an occluded front that stretched across the Alaska Peninsula produced clouds across southwest Alaska, extending eastward to the Cook Inlet. Rain fell at King Salmon and at Dillingham in the southwest and at Homer, Kodiak and Seldovia in south central Alaska.
On Monday evening snow began at Juneau, accumulating to 2 inches by morning, which marked the earliest snowfall of an inch or greater in the capital and a tie for the earliest measurable snowfall (0.1 inch or more) of the season.
The state's lowest overnight temperature on Tuesday morning was 3 degrees above zero at Anaktuvuk Pass. The highest temperature by mid afternoon of Tuesday was 54 degrees at Chignik and Hydaburg.
HAWAIIAN WEATHER -- The building of a ridge of high pressure to the north of Hawaii on Tuesday, coupled with the movement of a midlatitude low pressure system to the northeast, meant a return to a more familiar trade wind regime with prevailing winds from the east to northeast across the islands. Wind speeds have also begun to increase to between 10 to 15 mph. Relatively sunny and dry weather also returned. This pattern is expected to persist through the rest of the week. Ocean swells generated by a storm system in the South Pacific a week ago reached Hawaii, necessitating high surf advisories for the south shores of the islands as surf reached 4-6 feet heights.
EYE ON THE TROPICS -- After making land fall Monday on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Hurricane Keith quickly weakened to tropical storm status. On Tuesday Tropical Storm Keith continued moving westward across the Yucatan Peninsula, accelerating in its lateral movement by nightfall. Flood-producing heavy rain continued to cause havoc in Belize, the Mexican states and Nicaragua, where between eight and ten fatalities were reported. Movement across the peninsula caused additional weakening of the winds resulting in a downgrading of the system to a tropical depression. However, by late Tuesday night, Tropical Depression Keith was situated 50 miles south of Campeche, Mexico, and moving to the west-northwest at 8 mph. Near-surface winds surrounding the system were estimated to be 30 mph.
In the eastern North Pacific Tropical Depression 17E intensified and was classified as Tropical Storm Olivia, the fifteenth named tropical cyclone of the season in that ocean basin. As of late Tuesday night, Tropical Storm Olivia, with winds to 65 mph, was located 610 miles southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Movement of Olivia was to the west at 5 mph.
MONITORING DEGREE DAY UNITS -- Cumulative heating and cooling degree day units are available on monthly basis for selected cities across the country. For additional information as to where these data can be obtained, see the optional Wednesday Supplemental Information .
From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast
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Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2000, The American Meteorological Society.