Weather Extremes Push Spring Aside

May 20, 2002

Record low temperatures swept across 23 states Sunday in a late-spring blast of cold that is expected to continue across the eastern two-thirds of the nation this week.

At least 93 cities, from Beaumont, Texas, to Providence, registered record lows Sunday. The lowest temperature was 21 degrees in Cadillac, Mich. That was 8 degrees below the coldest readings in Alaska.

The unseasonable weather is the result of a high-pressure ridge funneling cold Canadian air south to the Gulf of Mexico.

"It's a little late in the season for this, but it's not unheard of," says Kevin Roth, a meteorologist with The Weather Channel. "As the week goes on, we're going to have a gradual warming."

For much of the nation, though, the weekend was a wintry mix. Temperatures took a steep dive, well below freezing in places, as rain and cold advanced east.

Snow fell in Albany, N.Y., early Saturday, the latest date for snowfall there on record. It was part of a swath of snow stretching from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts.

The moisture was the result of a frigid wave of high pressure meeting a warm and humid air mass, which had been hovering over the East and is more typical of late-spring weather patterns.

That weather collision produced substantial precipitation over the eastern third of the nation. More than an inch of rain fell Sunday in central and south Florida.

Up to 2 inches of weekend rain fell on New York City, Philadelphia, Washington and surrounding areas. That part of the country has been hit hard by drought.

The eastward movement of the rain brought relief across the center of the USA, where five states — Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio — had posted flood watches or warnings. At least nine deaths have been attributed to flooding. The Midwest was hit with 4 to 10 inches of rain last week.

The Mississippi River began to recede Sunday from a crest of 9 feet above flood stage at St. Louis. The rising river had stirred great concern, although it never approached the 20 feet above flood level recorded in 1993.

"The weather pattern has gone into a late-winter look," Roth says.

"There's an unusually strong jet stream. Usually this time of the year, it retreats back into Canada," he says.
By Debbie Howlett, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2002/2002-05-20-recordmaychill.htm