US

Weather Underground midday recap for Thursday, July 03, 2008.

A cold front extended from Maine down through to the Southern Plains on Thursday. In the Northeast, the front triggered cloudy conditions and a line of showers and storms across the region down to the Ohio Valley. Although there were no severe storms reported in the Northeast yet, there were still strong winds and heavy rainfall across the line of storms, which prompted a few flood advisories. The front moved cooler air into the region, and temperatures only rose to the 60s and the 70s, with a few 80s near the Mid-Atlantic coast.

In the Plains, the front kicked up a few showers and storms over Kansas, Missouri, and into the Midwest on Thursday. These storms produced mostly heavy rain over areas that have already been flooded by previous storms, which resulted in flood warnings and flash flood watches issued for the Central Plains. The rest of the central part of the country saw partly cloudy skies, with the exception of some scattered thunderstorms across Texas. Temperatures across the Southern Plains rose to the 100s due warm air pulled in by the front, while the Northern and Central Plains stayed in the 70s and 80s.

The Southeast saw typical afternoon thunderstorms on Thursday, and a few storms in Florida turned severe. These storms only produced frequent lightning, strong winds, and rain, although the severe storms also produced mainly penny sized hail. Temperatures across the Southeast were in the 80s and 90s.

High pressure kept the Southwest mostly dry and hot, except for some pop-up thunderstorms in the Four Corners that were produced by a front. Temperatures were in the 90s and 100s, and a few areas rose to 110.

The Northwest was mostly clear and warm, except for along the northwest coast, where a trough over the Pacific Northwest produced some clouds. Temperatures rose to 100 inland, while the coast saw 60s and 70s.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Thursday have ranged from a morning low of 32 degrees at Guthrie, Okla to a midday high of 109 degrees at Needles, Calif.