Thunderstorm activity moves through the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest on Thursday as a trough of low pressure pushed a series of frontal boundaries through the region.
A warm front extended eastward ahead of the system and produced scattered showers and strong winds in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. The tail end of this front allowed for warm and dry conditions to continue over the Mid-Mississippi River Valley and in addition to gusty winds, created dangerous fire weather conditions on Thursday.
This also created hot conditions with highs in the upper 90s across parts of Iowa. Meanwhile, a cold front stretched southward along the back side of this low pressure trough and brought scattered showers and thunderstorms to the Northern and Central Plains. Some of these areas saw severe weather development with strong winds and large hail.
In Hancock, Minnesota, 1 inch in diameter hail was reported and fell for about 15 minutes. In the East, a stationary front lingered over Florida and the Carolinas. This pulled more moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean and allowed for heavy rains and strong winds to develop. Strong winds blew down trees and power lines in parts of northern Florida and southeastern Georgia.
Out West, monsoonal moisture shifted eastward and into the Four Corners. This kicked up more thunderstorm activity across the Southwest, Great Basin, as well as the Central and Southern Rockies. Periods of heavy rainfall created flash floods across the Desert Southwest.
THURSDAY'S WEATHER EXTREMES:
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F).........................98 Fort Madison, Iowa
HIGHEST HEAT INDEX (DEGREES F)..........................103 Kingsville NAS, Texas
LOWEST TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)..........................32 West Yellowstone, Mont.
LOWEST WIND CHILL (DEGREES F)...........................26 Eagle, Alaska
HIGHEST WIND GUST (MPH).................................86 Ann Arbor, Mich.
HIGHEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES)..........................1.68 Sedona, Ariz.
ON THIS DATE....... Hurricane Andrew began to eye Florida on this date in 1992. On the morning of the 23rd, Andrew had winds of 120 mph (category 3) but by 3:30 P.M., the storm's winds had increased to 150 mph (category 4). Current Island in the Bahamas recorded a 23 foot storm surge.
The Associated Press