NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

 

JUNE 2009

 

1^st-6thThe Eastern U.S. continued to see areas of severe weather development on Tuesday. A trough extended from a low pressure system in eastern Canada, which pulled dry air in from the north, while high pressure in the Mid-Atlantic pushed warm and moist air in from the Gulf. These systems created a strong frontal boundary in the Central U.S. that extended from New England, down the Ohio River Valley, and into the Central Plains. This front kicked up light scattered showers with periods of heavy downpours in areas of thunderstorms development. Strong winds, hail, and tornadoes were also associated with this front. Wilmington, Delaware reported 52 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 76 mph and hail up to one inch in diameter was reported at High Ridge, Missouri. In Dodge City, Kansas, a tornado touched ground and kicked up some dust before it dissipated after 45 seconds. In the South, a small trough triggered periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms over the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Winds gusted up to 73 mph in Central Garden, Texas and a tornado touched ground in Henry, Louisiana. The southern tip of Florida also saw scattered showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday.

 

7^th-13^th…Strong storms developed around a potent low pressure system that lifted into the Great Lakes on Monday. The system was accompanied by a quasi-stationary front that extended from the upper Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic Coast and a cold front that stretched from the Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Southern Plains. Abundant moisture availability and enhanced instability across these regions led to bands of showers and thunderstorms throughout the day. Stronger storms across southwestern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, southern Michigan, western Indiana, and along the Central and Southern Appalachians consisted of heavy rainfall, strong gusty winds, and episodes of penny to ping pong sized hail (0.75 to 1.50 inches in diameter). These areas were placed under slight risk for severe weather development.

Once again, severe weather developed along a stationary front that divided the country into two separate air masses on Friday. The front stretched from New England, down the Ohio River Valley, and into the Southern Plains and was fed with warm and moist Gulf air, which allowed for scattered shower and thunderstorms development. Due to small troughs of low pressure moving over this front at higher levels, some areas of storms turned severe, specifically over northern Texas and the Tennessee Valley, with periods of heavy rain. Quarter size hail was reported in Snyder, Texas and strong winds manage to blow down 4 to 5 inch diameter tree branches in Wellington, Texas. Large hail and strong winds also caused damage in Virginia and Tennessee. As this front has hovered over the region for the last couple of days, continuous rain has caused flooding problems over the Mid-Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys.

 

Meanwhile to the north, a weak front moved through the Northern Plains and quickly produced severe thunderstorms. Heavy rain was reported with 0.43 inches in one hour in Gering, Nebraska, while strong winds and hail also hit the region. Three tornadoes were spotted in the region, one in Hawk Springs, Wyoming and two in the county of Scotts Bluff, Nebraska.

 

14^th-20^th…Severe weather popped up again in the Central Plains on Wednesday due to a strong low pressure system that developed over the Central Rockies. The system produced a warm front that extended over the Central Plains and into the Mid-Mississippi Valley. In addition to strong flow from the South that pulled in moist Gulf air, this front had favorable conditions for scattered showers and thunderstorm development. A tornado was reported along the Nebraska and Kansas border, with reports of broken windshields from large hail over Odell, Nebraska. The eastern edge of this front saw heavier rainfall with a total of 0.77 inches reported in Anawalt, West Virginia and a wall cloud associated with a thunderstorm produced heavy rain and golf ball size hail in Williamsburg, Kentucky.  

Powerful storms that rolled across the Midwest brought heavy rain, strong winds and unleashed several apparent tornadoes, damaging homes and businesses, tossing railcars off their tracks and knocking out power to thousands on Thursday. In southeastern Minnesota, daylight Thursday revealed a path of destruction left by an apparent tornado in the town of Austin, where vehicles were thrown about, homes were heavily damaged and power lines were knocked down. At least one man suffered minor injuries.

Austin Mayor Tom Stiehm said it appeared up to five twisters had hit Wednesday night. The National Weather Service was working to confirm what had happened. "It kind of developed on top of us," Stiehm said. "It just kind of - boom, it was just there and the intensity got real bad."

Mike Schuster, who lives in north Austin, told the Austin Daily Herald that he was on his deck when the tornado came out of nowhere, bowing one side of his house, destroying his shed and flattening his trees.

In southern Nebraska, a tornado ravaged a house near Aurora, knocked down power poles and overturned about a dozen railroad cars. High winds damaged a nearby pet products plant, the National Weather Service said.

Jeff Juzyk and his wife, Stacie, had just put their four children to bed when the power went out in their home about five miles west of Aurora. Jeff Juzyk looked outside and saw the top of a dark, narrow cloud. He and his wife rushed their children into the basement. "I could feel the house just blowing apart," he said. On Thursday, their roof and one wall were gone, the porch had collapsed and all the windows had blown in. The National Weather Service said a tornado that struck farther west in Buffalo County damaged a Quonset hut and at least two farms. In Illinois, storms broke tree limbs, flooded some streets and knocked out power for as many as 43,000 people in central and western Illinois. In central Iowa, authorities said a semitrailer was blown off Interstate 35 and roofs were ripped off a house and barn. In northwest Missouri, a storm damaged buildings and toppled trees and power lines in the small town of Norborne. Mike July, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pleasant Hill, said straight-line winds reached 74 mph. Storms continued to threaten some central states on Thursday. In southern Indiana, strong winds blew 12 empty railcars off the tracks near the Greene County town of Worthington as thunderstorms moved through the state. Moderate flooding was happening along the Wild Rice River at Abercrombie in southeastern North Dakota, the National Weather Service said. A flood warning was extended until next Wednesday for the Red River in Fargo, where the river is expected to rise to 23.3 feet by Saturday afternoon - more than 5 feet above flood stage.

Severe weather popped up in the Tennessee Valley and Southeast as well as the Upper Midwest on Monday. A low pressure system moved off the East Coast, while another low pressure system moved eastward through Canada. These systems together created a frontal boundary that hovered over the center of the country. The south end of this system created a cold front that hovered over the Southeast and Tennessee Valley, where it turned into a warm front that extended into the Upper Midwest. Both systems produced periods of heavy rain, large hail, and strong winds. Strawberry Plains, Tennessee reported 1.23 inches of new rainfall, while strong winds blew down several trees and power lines across Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. To the north, 2.25 inch hail dented cars in Seward, Nebraska. In the Northeast, the low pressure system kicked up overcast skies with strong winds, but severe weather has not yet been reported. South Barr, Massachusetts reported 17 mph winds with gust up to 32 mph accompanied by fog and light rain.

 

28^th-30^th…The Southeast saw active weather on Monday due to a stationary front that hovered over the region. A low pressure system moving through the Great Lakes created a strong frontal boundary that extended down the East Coast and into the Southeast. This system pulled in some moisture from the Gulf and allowed for many scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop along the front. Light rain was associated with this system, with short periods of heavy down pours in areas of thunderstorm development. No hail or tornadoes have been reported, but strong winds blew down multiple trees and power lines in eastern Texas and the panhandle of Florida. Heat advisories remained in effect for these areas as temperatures peaked near 100 degrees. Flauvanna, Texas reported 0.80 inches of rainfall and 18 mph winds with gusts up to 43 mph.

Severe weather hit the Northeast on Tuesday as a front hovered over the region. A low pressure system slowly moved over the Great Lakes and created a cold front that extended from the Northeast, down the East Coast, and wrapped around into the Southeast where it changed into a stationary front. In the north, this front kicked up scattered showers with no significant rainfall amounts reported. However, some scattered thunderstorms over the region turned severe with nickel size hail reported in Steuben, Pennsylvania and trees and power lines were blown down in Kingston, New York.

 

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.geocities.com/jimmunleywx