Today is the Federally-observed Veteran's Day.
WEATHER OVER THE WEEKEND -- Much of the country experienced relatively tranquil weather over the Veteran's Day weekend, with no major storm systems that often traverse the country at this time of year. A relatively weak storm system that was moving through the St. Lawrence Valley on Thursday crossed New England on Friday morning and was off the coast by evening. An elongated ridge of high pressure extended across the country from the Appalachians westward to the West Coast. As a result, unseasonably mild weather was found across much of the western half of the nation on Friday with the exception of Texas and New Mexico. Rainshowers and some imbedded thunderstorms associated with a cold front moved southward across the southern Plains from Oklahoma and north Texas in the morning to the Texas Gulf Coast and the lower Rio Grande Valley by Friday evening. High temperatures across the northern Rockies and the northern Plains from Nebraska north to the Canadian border ranged from 15 to 25 degrees above the average highs for the date. Record high temperatures were either tied or set in California at Simi Valley (92 degrees) and Downtown San Francisco (78 degrees); in South Dakota at Rapid City (75 degrees); in Nebraska at Valentine (75 degrees); in Montana at Miles City (69 degrees), Glasgow (68 degrees), Dillon (64 degrees), Helena (63 degrees) and Butte (62 degrees); and in Wyoming at Sheridan (73 degrees).
High pressure continued to dominate much of the nation on Saturday. Under clear skies and light winds, Cape Hatteras, NC reported a record low temperature of 37 degrees on Saturday morning. High temperatures ranged from 20 to 25 degrees above average across the Plains. Portions of Texas and New Mexico continued to experience highs that were slightly below average as this region experienced additional precipitation on Saturday and into Sunday morning. Seasonal temperatures were found across New England. A cold front pushed southward across the Great Lakes, causing little more than a shift in the winds to a northerly direction and a slight cooling. By Sunday morning the cold front had swept southeastward to the Tennessee Valley. High pressure built in across the western Great Lakes on Sunday morning.
By late Saturday widespread precipitation began spreading into central California in association with a storm system off the West Coast. This welcome precipitation continued into Sunday from central California northward into southern Oregon and eastward to the Sierras.
Much of the nation with the exception of the Northeast experienced a relatively mild Veteran's Day. Afternoon highs across the central and northern Plains as well as portions of the northern Rockies recorded high temperatures that ranged between 15 and 25 degrees above the long-term average highs for this time of year. Medford, OR reached a record high temperature of 72 degrees. Northerly winds on the eastern flank of the high pressure cell over the western Great Lakes meant that the eastern Lakes and western portions of New England experienced a relatively chilly Sunday with high temperatures that were on the order of 10 degrees below the average highs for the date.
A waterspout was spotted off the Florida Keys late Sunday afternoon.
WEATHER FOR THE START OF THE NEW WEEK -- The following highlights of the national weather have been extracted from the surface weather map for late Sunday night.
A storm system off the southern Oregon coast was continuing to spread much needed precipitation across northern California and portions of Oregon. The low pressure center was located approximately 300 miles west of Cape Blanco. An occluded front that then changed into a cold front curved southwestward over the eastern North Pacific. This storm system was expected to reach the coast during the midday on Monday and move inland into south central Oregon by evening. The trailing cold front should sweep eastward across southern California. Wide spread precipitation is expected to fall, with 24 hour liquid-equivalent precipitation totals ranging from 1.0 to 2.5 inches over a large portion of central and northern California by Monday evening. A variety of winter storm watches and warnings were posted for the Sierras in California, along with some of the higher terrain in adjacent portions of southern Nevada. In the northern Sierras, snow levels are expected to progressively drop from 7500 feet early Monday morning to about 5000 feet by early Tuesday. More than a foot of new snow is likely by Monday evening, while in the central Sierras, up to 18 inches of snow are expected near Lake Tahoe, accompanied by strong winds. In the southern Sierras, upward of 2 feet of snow could fall south of Yosemite National Park. Farther south near Death Valley National Park, 6 to 10 inches are anticipated. As much as 4 to 8 inches of snow could fall across the mountains of southern Nevada from late Monday into early Tuesday. As the cold front approaches the coast of southern California, A slight risk of severe thunderstorms is anticipated on Monday afternoon across portions of southern California that includes the Los Angeles Basin.
Relatively pleasant weather was found across much of the West as high pressure was found across the Rockies. Farther to the east, a large high pressure cell located across the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes maintained relatively tranquil weather across much of the eastern half of the nation. However, northwesterly winds to the northeast of the high pressure center produced some light lake-effect snowshowers across Upstate New York and portions of northern New England. Less than 0.1 inches of liquid equivalent are anticipated.
Some light rainshowers were also moving across the Hill County of central Texas to the south of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area. An inch of rain could fall across the region by Monday evening.
UPPER AIR -- The 500 and 300 mb charts for 00Z Monday indicate a ridge of height contours across the West in association with a large bubble of warm air that extends upward through the troposphere. On the other hand, a height trough reflecting cooler air is situated across the eastern Great Lakes and New England. The 300 mb jet remains along the US-Canadian border, well to the north of its usual position for this time of the year.
TEMPERATURE EXTREMES ACROSS THE LOWER 48 -- On Sunday, the lowest temperature reported in the continental U.S. was 12 degrees at Jordan and Harlem, MT and Hettinger, ND, while Sunday's highest temperature was 90 degrees at San Diego (Montgomery Field), CA.
ALASKAN WEATHER -- Much of mainland Alaska was dominated by an arctic air mass associated with high pressure. Relatively cloud-free skies were found across interior Alaska. Afternoon temperatures across the interior ranged from 10 degrees below zero at McGrath to 28 degrees above zero at Denali National Park. Northeasterly winds were found along the Arctic Coast with Barrow having blowing snow. Barter Island had northeast winds that gusted to over 50 mph. A stationary front marked the southern boundary of the arctic air and stretched from Bristol Bay on the west along the southern coast of Alaska and then eastward into the Yukon Territory and northern British Columbia. A strong storm system moving east-southeastward across the southeastern Bering Sea produced clouds, precipitation and high gradient winds across the Aleutians and the Pribilofs. The low pressure system had a central pressure of approximately 968 mb and was located to the northwest of Dutch Harbor. An occluded front curved eastward and then southward across the Alaska Peninsula out over the North Pacific Ocean. Cold Bay had rain mixed with snow and winds that gusted to near 40 mph, while Saint Paul Island reported east winds with gusts to over 50 mph that helped produce horizontal snowfall. A high wind watch remained in effect for the eastern Aleutians as winds could reach sustained speeds of 65 mph with gusts to 75 mph. Another weak low pressure center was located along the coast of the southern tip of the Panhandle. As a result, clouds and precipitation were found across the Panhandle. Rain was reported at Ketchikan and Yakutat, which had 1.02 inches in the 24 hours ending on Sunday afternoon.
The lowest overnight temperature in Alaska as of Sunday was 27 degrees below zero at Sleetmute and the midafternoon highest statewide temperature was 45 degrees at Hydaburg.
HAWAIIAN WEATHER -- East to northeast trade winds were found across the Aloha State on Sunday as high pressure was located to the north of the islands. Some light showers were detected approximately 150 miles to the north of Kauai as part of a weakening wind shear line. Essentially no other significant precipitation is expected in the next several days across the islands as the high drifts slowly southeastward. The trades are also expected to weaken slightly. Northwest surf was expected to increase to heights of approximately 8 feet on Sunday night, just below the threshold for heavy surf advisories. Small craft advisories were in effect for state waters.
WINTER AWARENESS -- Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia are observing Winter Awareness Week during the upcoming week (11-16 November). In addition, Kansas and Missouri will observe Winter Weather Awareness Day on Wednesday, 14 November, while Texas has scheduled its Winter Weather Awareness Day on Thursday. Residents of the states should take time to review the winter weather safety rules that have been prepared by their local National Weather Service Offices.
HAZARDOUS HIGHS -- We usually associate low air pressure with stormy weather and high pressure with "fair weather", a somewhat subjective term used to describe pleasant weather conditions, with no precipitation and few clouds. But can high pressure deliver "un-fair" weather? For a description of the types of hazardous weather associated with high pressure systems, please check Monday's optional Supplemental Information.
From the files of the Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, MO and Intellicast