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National Storm Summary

 

June 2014

 

1st-7thSevere storms pounded parts of the central United States on Tuesday producing baseball-sized hail, unconfirmed reports of several tornado touchdowns and a line of intense, dangerous winds known as a derecho, weather forecasters said. Strong winds and baseball-sized hail caused widespread damage north of Omaha, Nebraska, Washington County officials said. The severe weather halted flights at Omaha's Eppley Airfield for hours, which reported hail and strong wind gusts, and heavy rain caused flash flooding that closed area streets. Storm chasers reported at least eight unconfirmed tornado touch-downs in Nebraska, one in Iowa and another in Wyoming, the National Weather Service said. Hail, ranging from golf ball to tennis ball size, also pelted parts of Wyoming, the northern half of Nebraska and the southwestern corners of South Dakota and Iowa, the National Weather Service said.

Significant rain fell across the southern Plains. The rain improved prospects for summer crops and continued to revive rangeland and pastures. Prior to the arrival of heavy rain across the southern Plains, multiple rounds of heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms crossed the  central Plains, Mid-South, and Midwest. Weekly rainfall totaled 4 inches or more in numerous locations across the central and southern Plains,

Tennessee Valley, and southwestern Plains. Early week showers were heaviest across the upper Midwest, where record setting rainfall totals for June 1 included 2.47 inches in Sioux Falls, SD, and 2.37 inches in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. On the northern Plains, daily record amounts reached 1.52 inches (on June 2) in Grand Forks, ND, and 0.99 inch (on June 1) in Miles City, MT. Later, the focus for heavy rainfall shifted southward. Extremely heavy rainfall, along with localized high winds, large hail, and flash flooding, battered parts of the southwestern Plains on June 3. In Nebraska, Omaha (5.30 inches on June 3) experienced its wettest June day on record, surpassing the 5.02-inch total of June 17, 1875.  Lamoni, IA, also received a 5-inch rainfall on June 3, netting 5.27 inches. Valentine, NE, reported 4.76 inches of rain during the first 7 days of the month, aided by a daily record total of 2.53 inches on June 6. Other daily record totals included 2.78 inches (on June 5) in Chanute, KS ; 2.75 inches (on June 4) in Paducah, KY; and 1.98 inches (on June 6) in

Amarillo, TX. In New Mexico, thunderstorm wind gusts on June 6 were clocked

to 79 mph in Clovis and 63 mph in Tucumcari.

Heavy precipitation developed across parts of

8th-14thSevere weather and strong winds caused damage to homes and businesses in the Harvester and St. Peters areas Saturday afternoon. A tornado warning was issued for parts of St. Charles, St. Louis, and Jefferson Counties. Most of the roof blew off of a Club Fitness at the 3600 block of North St. Peters Parkway, which is just off the Page Extension.

he National Weather Service on Sunday issued a tornado watch for all of eastern Colorado, as a line of severe storms packing high winds and hail sweeps across the plains. Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said a trough of low pressure is creating a "large extensive line" of severe weather along the Front Range from southern Colorado to the Wyoming border.  Several tornados were reported Sunday, including one in the tiny northeastern Colorado town of Grover and two in Park County. Fredin didn't know if any structures were damaged. Meanwhile, the Aurora Fire Department said a tornado touched down near the Blackstone Country Club southeast of Denver, causing some injuries. Authorities have not released any other information.

Abundant rainfall gradually shifted from the central and southern Plains into the East. Slow recovery from a multi-year drought continued across the central and southern Plains, while most of the northern and eastern U.S. remained free of drought. Excessive rain fell in a few June 17, 2014 areas mainly across the South and East causing local flooding. In addition, severe thunderstorms dotted the central and southern Plains, South, and East. Meanwhile, mostly dry weather prevailed in the West, although an early-season heat wave gradually yielded to cooler conditions. Farther east, a late-week cold front triggered a new round of heavy rain, as well as locally strong thunderstorms, from the northern Plains into the upper Midwest. Early week rainfall was heaviest across portions of the Plains, where record-setting totals for June 8 included 2.16  inches in McAlester, OK; 1.70 inches in Childress, TX; and 1.42 inches in Valentine, NE. Farther west, some late-season snow blanketed the central Rockies, where 2 inches fell in Gothic, CO, on June 8-9. Meanwhile, heavy showers also dotted the South and East. Among a large number of daily record amounts for June 9 were totals of 3.51 inches in Monticello, AR; 2.81 inches in Jackson, TN; 2.66 inches in Greenwood, MS; and 2.38 inches in Salina, KS. The parade of rainfall records continued through June 10, when record setting totals reached 3.69 inches in Lafayette, LA, and 2.59 inches in Philadelphia, PA. By mid-week, a new area of rain swept across the north-central U.S., resulting in a 2-day (June 11-12) sum of 3.74 inches in International Falls, MN. Heavy showers lingered in the East through June 13, when Vero Beach, FL (2.28 inches), and Bridgeport, CT (1.65 inches), collected daily-record amounts. At week’s end, heavy rain returned to the nation’s mid-section, particularly across the northern and central Plains. In a 24-hour period ending before daybreak on June 15, a remarkable 4.65 inches of rain drenched Sioux Falls, SD.

15th-21stA timely warning allowed an entire South Dakota city to shelter from a tornado that razed dozens of homes and businesses but injured only one or two people in the area, officials said Thursday. Dedrich Koch, a Jerauld County prosecutor, said everyone was accounted for after the twister hit Wessington Springs just before 8 p.m. Wednesday. Tornado alarms sounded several times, prompting residents to head to the city's emergency shelter in the basement of the courthouse, Koch said. Charles Bergeleen, who has lived in Wessington Springs since 1981, said the twister moved over hills and through the town, missing his house by 50 feet. "There's debris all over that (south) end of town; there's a lot of insulation, wood, siding," Bergeleen said Thursday. "I found a license plate from Texas in my yard. I guess it's from someone who was visiting the area." Ten businesses were damaged, five of them extensively, and at least 25 of 43 houses that were damaged are uninhabitable, he said Thursday. The city has a population of about 850 residents.

June 15-21…Rain fell across the upper Midwest, erasing vestiges of drought but triggering lowland flooding. Weekly totals of at least 4 to 8 inches were common across southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, and parts of neighboring states, sending rivers out of their banks and in some cases to record high levels. Heavy rain fell in isolated areas mainly in parts of Montana and southern Texas, as well as Florida’s peninsula causing local flooding. Florida’s showers signaled the full scale arrival of the summer wet season, easing dryness related concerns in southern parts of the state.  In a continuation from the previous week, torrential rainfall persisted across the upper Midwest. From June 14-16, rainfall in Sioux Falls, SD, totaled 7.71 inches. Month-to-date rainfall in Sioux Falls through June 21 totaled 13.39 inches, surpassing station records for June (previously, 8.43 inches in 1984) and any month (previously, 9.42 inches in May 1898). Similarly, 9.27 inches of rain drenched Sioux City, IA, from June 14-17. With 12.10 inches of rain through June 21,

Sioux City also set records for June rainfall (previously, 8.78 inches in 1967) and precipitation in any month (previously, 11.78 inches in May 1903). In South Dakota, record high crests were established on June 17 along the Big Sioux River from Hawarden downstream to Akron. Records along that section of the Big Sioux River had been established in May 1993 or April 2001. In Sioux City, the Big Sioux River crested 6.63 feet above flood stage on June 19, rising to its highest level since April 1969. June 18 featured particularly widespread Midwestern rainfall, with amounts reaching 4.27 inches in Sisseton, SD; 3.93 inches in Muskegon, MI; and 2.91 inches in Dubuque, IA. On the same date, heavy rainfall on the northern Plains led to record setting totals in locations such as Jamestown, ND (2.45 inches), and Cut Bank, MT (2.37 inches). Cut Bank’s 2-day (June 17-

18) rainfall climbed to 3.60 inches. Later, the 19th was the wettest June day on record in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, where 4.13 inches fell (previously, 3.48 inches on June 29, 1877). Across the remainder of the country, selected daily-record rainfall totals included 4.31 inches (on June 20) in Del Rio, TX, and 1.69 inches (on June 19) in Quillayute, WA.

June 22-28: Pounding rains fell across areas of the Plains, the Midwest, and South causing flooding.  Weekly rainfall amounts in excess of 4 inches were scattered across all three regions, boosting month to date totals to 10 inches or more in several locations. Farther north, cool and rainy weather perpetuated pockets of lowland flooding. Across the remainder of the Midwest, showery weather also resulted in local flooding. Meanwhile, heavy showers also fell in the South. However, excessive amounts were mostly confined to the central Gulf Coast region. In contrast, showers largely bypassed portions of the southern Mid-Atlantic States. Elsewhere, seasonably dry weather prevailed from California to the southern Rockies, while showers provided beneficial moisture to the interior Northwest. Record setting totals for June 22 included 4.28 inches in Waco, TX, and 1.77 inches in Dodge City, KS. The only wetter June days on record in Waco were June 17, 1938, with 6.40 inches, and June 14, 1927, with 5.46 inches. On June 23, daily record amounts reached 3.03 inches in Oklahoma City, OK, and 2.57 inches in Springfield, IL. Locally heavy showers also developed in the southern Atlantic region, where Savannah, GA (6.65 inches), reported its wettest June day on record. Previously, Savannah’s wettest June day had been June 29, 1999, when 6.60 inches fell. Later, the Plains and upper Midwest experienced a temporary reprieve from heavy showers, as the axis of heavy rain shifted eastward. Daily record totals for June 24 climbed to 3.54 inches in Cleveland, OH, and 2.50 inches in Lake Charles, LA. Very heavy showers lingered for several days along the Gulf Coast, resulting in daily-record amounts in Louisiana locations such as Lake Charles (6.94 inches on June 27) and Baton Rouge (3.53 inches on June 25). Meanwhile, unusually heavy summer rainfall overspread the Northwest, where record-setting Oregon totals for June 26 included 0.88 inch in Troutdale and 0.46 inch in Hillsboro. Heavy rain spread as far east as Montana, resulting in daily record amounts for June 26 in locations such as Miles City (2.08 inches) and Butte (1.48 inches). At week’s end, torrential

rains returned to parts of the central U.S. Record setting totals for June 28 included 4.37 inches in Garden City, KS, and 2.96 inches in Minot, ND. With a monthly sum of 10.88 inches, Garden City also experienced its wettest June and month on record (previously, 9.38 inches in June 1989 and 10.43 inches in July 1979, respectively). Farther north, June

and all-time monthly rainfall records were also set in locations such as Sioux City, IA (16.65 inches), and Sioux Falls, SD (10.70 inches).

 

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



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