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06/21/2002 10:00 AM EDT Betsy Abrams, Senior Meteorologist
Forecast Summary, The Weather Channel South
Showers and thunderstorms will once again douse the east coast of Florida, as well as coastal Georgia and the Carolinas. An upper level trough has cooled off the higher levels of the atmosphere. Add afternoon heating at the surface and you have unstable air and thunderstorms. Expect some areas to see rainfall rates around an inch an hour. In the 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m., West Palm Beach, Marathon, and Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah each had over two inches of rain. High temperatures over much of the Southeast will be average, except in Florida where the clouds and wet weather will hold the readings down to about 5 degrees below average. Expect damp weather over the weekend for Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina , and Florida. On Sunday the moisture and storms should spread north into Kentucky and west into Louisiana.
Midwest
Very warm air is in place over the central Plains and mid-Mississippi Valley, but in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest from South Dakota to Michigan, a warm front is providing a boundary for popping lots of thunderstorms and heavier rain. Early in the morning, Pierre, S.D., picked up 2.19 inches of rain in just 6 hours. Strong-to-severe storms in the Dakotas and southern Minnesota could produce hail and damaging wind gusts. The central High Plains will be windy with strong south to southeast gusts of 30 to 40 mph. On Saturday showers and storms continue to move across the northern Plains and around the Great Lakes. Sunday and Monday will still be damp for North Dakota and northern Minnesota. The central Plains will have high temperatures 5 to 10 degrees above average.
West
Upslope winds will once again help to pop thunderstorms from Wyoming southward to eastern New Mexico. Roswell, N.M., received almost an inch and a half of rain yesterday and could get a repeat performance today. The Desert Southwest remains hot and dry, but wind will be added to the mixture, making fire-fighting tough and fire danger very high. Most of Arizona and Utah have a fire weather watch for this afternoon or a red flag warning for high winds, low humidity and the long-term drought. The northern Rockies are under the influence of an upper trough so it will be showery and thundery today through Montana and Wyoming with rain spreading west through Idaho, Nevada, and into the Sierra. Montana and Wyoming will continue to see showers and storms through the weekend otherwise much of the West will remain dry. It has been cool in central and southern coastal California. San Francisco had a record cold high temperature when it reached only 60 yesterday. Winds and cool maritime air will move into the city by the Bay once again today with the high reaching only into the low 60s.
Northeast
A cold front will approach northern New York and northern New England this afternoon and a few thunderstorms will develop this evening. The rest of the region will be dry today, and, with a stagnant high pressure area nearby, the air quality in many cities has deteriorated. The air quality in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Allentown will be unhealthy due to ozone, while the large cities from Washington, D.C. northeast to Boston will have moderate air quality with the higher ozone levels. On Saturday much of southern New England and New York will have scattered thunderstorms as the cold front drops on by to the south. High temperatures will cool on Saturday and reach into the 70s after hitting the 80s today. On Sunday the unsettled cooler weather stays in place for New York and New England.
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