Weather people are in awe of a storm system centered over Lake Michigan this morning. (Even me, who has been playing with the weather for what seems like 200 years.) Here are some interesting notes from that record storm + notes from all over. Hope this "stuff" is not boring.
* Heard a news report of 8 inches of snow on the ground at Montreal, Wisconsin. I have been completely unable to verify that.
* Wind gusts to 50 mph at Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At the town of Wausaukee, Wisconsin, one person was serious injured by a falling tree.
* And there was a tragedy 10 miles west of Allegan, Michigan late Thursday. A large tree limb fell onto a passing automobile killing the driver and injuring the passenger.
* Wind gusts to 58 mph at Standard Rock, Michigan and 63 mph at Muskegon. A gust of 69 mph was reported at Spyglass Condos (what a name) in SW Michigan.
* Grand Rapids recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever for the month of May. It dropped to 29.08 inches and records have been kept there since way back in 1897.
* Two inches of snow on the ground at Bessemer. (Michigan, that is, not Bessemer, Alabama.)
* Late yesterday a tornado touched down in an open field in Kalamazoo County, Michigan and remained nearly stationary for a couple of minutes. No damage. (Why are all of these Michigan and Wisconsin towns so hard to spell
* 3.15 inches of rain fell at Marquette in Upper Michigan overnight. That is the second greatest 24-hour amount of all time. Depere, Wisconsin was drenched with 2.45 inches.
* On visible satellite this morning, this storm system centered over the Great Lakes takes on the appearnce of a tropical storm or hurricane circulation. Of course, it is not. There are no tropical characteristics.
* This big circulation center is sending occasional lobes of moisture toward the south and SE. There was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning north of Nashville late Thursday. It is not out of the question that light rain may become mixed with snow in some of the higher elevations of East Tennessee and North Georgia over the weekend. For example, temperatures are expected to drop to 41 in Gatlinburg Sunday night and Monday morning with frequent showers in progress. I feel sure the temperature on Mt. LeConte will drop to 34 or 35, which would increase the chance of at least a snow mix. The NWS in Atlanta also points to that possibility in the highest elevations of North Georgia.
* Here in North Alabama, don't be surprised to hear of some small hail reports late Saturday and Saturday night and maybe even a few peals of thunder. The atmosphere is getting a lot colder aloft. At times like this, we can get small hail from even a low-top thunderstorm.
* A tornado touched down in two North Virginia counties this morning near Washington, D. C. Trees and power lines came down, but there were no reports of injuries. Yes, that is related to the big Michigan circulation also.
* That broad circulation also pulled down some chilly air into Alabama overnight and even a few light showers over the extreme north. Huntsville received 0.02 inches or rain.
* Enjoy our present cool spell--there will not be too many more of these. It can get extremely hot in Alabama this time of year. During May 1962, there was a long drawn out heat wave in Alabama. Of the 31 days in May, 16 days show the all-time record to be in the 1962 heat. That is very unusual. The temperature topped out at 98 at May 18, 19, 21 and 27 in 1962. Temperatures peaked at 99 on May 28 and 29. By the way, the earliest triple digit temperature on record in Birmingham occurred on June 5, 1985 with an even 100.
* In contrast to all that, here is a round up of lows around Alabama this morning. This is not an all-inclusive list. We will update in our afternoon edition if we see some temperatures lower than these:
43 in DeSoto State Park
45 in Crossville and Cullman Airport
46 at Ft. Payne Airport
47 at Tuscaloosa Airport
48 in Vinemont (Mike Wilhelm, 33/40 weather watcher)
48 also in Albertville and Muscle Shoals
49 in Pinson
49 also in East Trussville (from Jay Shelley, retired NWS) *
50 in Decatur, Huntsville, Montgomery, Shelby County Airport (NWS)
51 at Birmingham Airport
52 at Anniston
53 in Mobile
54 in Selma
*I worked with Jay Shelley for my entire 32 years in the National Weather Service. A great gentleman. He also spent his entire career at the NWS Birmingham and actually worked longer than I did.
A WEIRD ITEM:
Thanks to John T. in Hueytown for calling our attention to this. A weak tornado at Hillsboro, Ohio Wednesday night caused damage on Wizard of Oz Drive. How appropriate. Reminds me of the flash flood warning I saw one time for Boiling Springs, Texas. (Or was it Roaring Springs, Texas
* Heard a news report of 8 inches of snow on the ground at Montreal, Wisconsin. I have been completely unable to verify that.
* Wind gusts to 50 mph at Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At the town of Wausaukee, Wisconsin, one person was serious injured by a falling tree.
* And there was a tragedy 10 miles west of Allegan, Michigan late Thursday. A large tree limb fell onto a passing automobile killing the driver and injuring the passenger.
* Wind gusts to 58 mph at Standard Rock, Michigan and 63 mph at Muskegon. A gust of 69 mph was reported at Spyglass Condos (what a name) in SW Michigan.
* Grand Rapids recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever for the month of May. It dropped to 29.08 inches and records have been kept there since way back in 1897.
* Two inches of snow on the ground at Bessemer. (Michigan, that is, not Bessemer, Alabama.)
* Late yesterday a tornado touched down in an open field in Kalamazoo County, Michigan and remained nearly stationary for a couple of minutes. No damage. (Why are all of these Michigan and Wisconsin towns so hard to spell
* 3.15 inches of rain fell at Marquette in Upper Michigan overnight. That is the second greatest 24-hour amount of all time. Depere, Wisconsin was drenched with 2.45 inches.
* On visible satellite this morning, this storm system centered over the Great Lakes takes on the appearnce of a tropical storm or hurricane circulation. Of course, it is not. There are no tropical characteristics.
* This big circulation center is sending occasional lobes of moisture toward the south and SE. There was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning north of Nashville late Thursday. It is not out of the question that light rain may become mixed with snow in some of the higher elevations of East Tennessee and North Georgia over the weekend. For example, temperatures are expected to drop to 41 in Gatlinburg Sunday night and Monday morning with frequent showers in progress. I feel sure the temperature on Mt. LeConte will drop to 34 or 35, which would increase the chance of at least a snow mix. The NWS in Atlanta also points to that possibility in the highest elevations of North Georgia.
* Here in North Alabama, don't be surprised to hear of some small hail reports late Saturday and Saturday night and maybe even a few peals of thunder. The atmosphere is getting a lot colder aloft. At times like this, we can get small hail from even a low-top thunderstorm.
* A tornado touched down in two North Virginia counties this morning near Washington, D. C. Trees and power lines came down, but there were no reports of injuries. Yes, that is related to the big Michigan circulation also.
* That broad circulation also pulled down some chilly air into Alabama overnight and even a few light showers over the extreme north. Huntsville received 0.02 inches or rain.
* Enjoy our present cool spell--there will not be too many more of these. It can get extremely hot in Alabama this time of year. During May 1962, there was a long drawn out heat wave in Alabama. Of the 31 days in May, 16 days show the all-time record to be in the 1962 heat. That is very unusual. The temperature topped out at 98 at May 18, 19, 21 and 27 in 1962. Temperatures peaked at 99 on May 28 and 29. By the way, the earliest triple digit temperature on record in Birmingham occurred on June 5, 1985 with an even 100.
* In contrast to all that, here is a round up of lows around Alabama this morning. This is not an all-inclusive list. We will update in our afternoon edition if we see some temperatures lower than these:
43 in DeSoto State Park
45 in Crossville and Cullman Airport
46 at Ft. Payne Airport
47 at Tuscaloosa Airport
48 in Vinemont (Mike Wilhelm, 33/40 weather watcher)
48 also in Albertville and Muscle Shoals
49 in Pinson
49 also in East Trussville (from Jay Shelley, retired NWS) *
50 in Decatur, Huntsville, Montgomery, Shelby County Airport (NWS)
51 at Birmingham Airport
52 at Anniston
53 in Mobile
54 in Selma
*I worked with Jay Shelley for my entire 32 years in the National Weather Service. A great gentleman. He also spent his entire career at the NWS Birmingham and actually worked longer than I did.
A WEIRD ITEM:
Thanks to John T. in Hueytown for calling our attention to this. A weak tornado at Hillsboro, Ohio Wednesday night caused damage on Wizard of Oz Drive. How appropriate. Reminds me of the flash flood warning I saw one time for Boiling Springs, Texas. (Or was it Roaring Springs, Texas
on May 12, 2006, 9:44 am
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hun/stormsurveys/2006-05-09/
The other was rated F1, in Marengo County, by the NWS Birmingham.
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