Some rain will fall on your Fri....warmer, more humid air will be pushing north & -- with the help of an upper level disturbance -- will produce showers across the area Fri. afternoon & evening. We should see a few thunderstorms too, but intense storms shouldn't be a problem. Rainfall coverage will be near 100% but amounts not substantial -- generally a half inch or less with maybe an isolated spot or two picking up more.
Still eyeing a slow-moving storm for the middle of next week which could bring plenty of active weather to the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. including all facets of late winter/early spring ranging from heavy snow & wind to severe thunderstorms.
Gov. Crist declared a state of emergency Thu. for Lake City & Columbia Co. after Friday's tornado. Catholic Charities will be lending a helping hand:
Catholic Charities Bureau Heads Efforts
For Tornado Relief Assistance in Lake City
Lake City, Fla. – The Lake City Regional Office of Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Saint Augustine is taking the lead role in coordinating disaster relief for nearly 400 people affected by the tornado that hit Columbia County last Friday, March 7.
Lake City officials have asked Catholic Charities to coordinate the efforts of about 14 state and local governmental agencies including, non-profit and faith-based organizations. According to Suzanne Edwards, executive director of Catholic Charities Lake City Regional Office, the tornado relief assessment is underway with headquarters established at the Richardson Community Center, 255 NE Coach Anders Lane in Lake City. Officialsexpect the center to remain open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for relief assessment through Sunday, March 16.
“The Richardson Community Center is located in the heart of the area where most of the storm damage occurred,” said Edwards. “It is a very poor area where about 60 homes were destroyed with another 125 homes severely damaged,” she said.
Catholic Charities, in conjunction with the Red Cross and United Way, have organized a food drive in the community. Officials are seeking non-perishable food items and cash donations to help the displaced families. “Many of the victims are staying with friends and family in the community and some have received vouchers to stay in area hotels,” said Harvey Campbell, public information officer for Columbia County Emergency Management. He expects the relief efforts to continue for several weeks or longer. “It will be difficult for the displaced families to find affordable housing in Lake City and the rental market is especially tight right now,”commented Campbell.
Non-perishable food items can be dropped off and monetary donations mailed to the Catholic Charities Office, 258 NW Burk Avenue, Lake City, FL 32055. Checks should be made payable to Catholic Charities Lake City.
For additional information, please call Suzanne Edwards at (386) 754-9180/office.
It was 15 yrs. ago today that the "Storm of the Century" moved from the Gulf of Mexico up the Eastern Seaboard. Major storm surge slammed Cuba & Florida with
severe thunderstorms & tornadoes while a blizzard raged on the west side of the storm. 250 were killed...13 cities broke snowfall & pressure readings...& there were 132 record lows.
NOAA has released a summary of the past winter (Dec.-Feb.). The recent trend of unseasonably warm winters didn't occur this year though winter '07-'08 was still slightly above avg. for the "Lower 48". For Jax...temps. averaged 1.8 degrees above avg. & rainfall was 3.03" above avg. thanks to a wet Feb.
NOAA: Coolest Winter Since 2001 for U.S., Globe
The average temperature across both the contiguous U.S. and the globe during climatological winter (December 2007-February 2008) was the coolest since 2001, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. In terms of winter precipitation, Pacific storms, bringing heavy precipitation to large parts of the West, produced high snowpack that will provide welcome runoff this spring.
A complete analysis of Feb. is available online.
U.S. Winter Temperature Highlights
* In the contiguous United States, the average winter temperature was 33.2 degrees F (0.6 degrees C), which was 0.2 degrees F (0.1 degrees C) above the 20th century average – yet still ranks as the coolest since 2001. It was the 54th coolest winter since national records began in 1895.
* Winter temperatures were warmer than average from Texas to the Southeast and along the Eastern Seaboard, while cooler-than-average temperatures stretched from much of the upper Midwest to the West Coast.
* With higher-than-average temperatures in the Northeast and South, the contiguous U.S. winter temperature-related energy demand was approximately 1.7 percent lower than average, based on NOAA’s Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index.
U.S. Winter Precipitation Highlights
* Winter precipitation was much above average from the Midwest to parts of the West, notably Kansas, Colorado and Utah. Although moderate-to-strong La Niña conditions were present in the equatorial Pacific the winter was unique for the above average rain and snowfall in the Southwest, where La Niña typically brings drier-than-average conditions.
* During January alone, 170 inches of snow fell at the Alta ski area near Salt Lake City, Utah, more than twice the normal amount for the month, eclipsing the previous record of 168 inches that fell in 1967. At the end of February, seasonal precipitation for the 2008 Water Year, which began on October 1, 2007, was well above average over much of the West.
* Mountain snowpack exceeded 150 percent of average in large parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oregon at the end of February.
Spring run-off from the above average snowpack in the West is expected to be beneficial in drought plagued areas.
* Record February precipitation in the Northeast helped make the winter the fifth wettest on record for the region. New York had its wettest winter, while Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont, and Colorado to the West, had their second wettest.
* Snowfall was above normal in northern New England, where some locations posted all-time record winter snow totals. Concord, N.Y., received 100.1 inches, which was 22.1 inches above the previous record set during the winter of 1886-87. Burlington, Vt., received 103.2 inches, which was 6.3 inches above the previous record set during the winter of 1970-71.
* While some areas of the Southeast were wetter than average during the winter, overall precipitation for the region was near average. At the end of February, two-thirds of the Southeast remained in some stage of drought, with more than
25 percent in extreme-to- exceptional drought.
* Drought conditions intensified in Texas with areas experiencing drought almost doubling from 25 percent at the end of January to 45 percent at the end of February.
Global Highlights
* The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the 16th warmest on record for the December 2007-February 2008 period (0.58 degrees F/0.32 degrees C above the 20th century mean of 53.8 degrees F/12.1 degrees C). The
presence of a moderate-to-strong La Niña contributed to an average temperature that was the coolest since the La Niña episode of 2000-2001.
* While analyses of the causes of the severe winter storms in southern China continues, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory scientists are focusing on the presence of unusually strong, persistent high pressure over Eastern Europe,
combined with low pressure over Southwest Asia. This pattern directed a series of storms across the region, while northerly low level flow introduced cold air from Mongolia. Unusually high water temperatures in the China Sea may have
triggered available moisture that enhanced the severity of these storms.
* Record Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent in January was followed by above average snow cover for the month of February. Unusually high temperatures across much of the mid- and high-latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere in February began reducing the snow cover, and by the end of February, snow cover extent was below average in many parts of the hemisphere.
* While there has been little trend in snow cover extent during the winter season since records began in the late 1960s, spring snow cover extent has been sharply lower in the past two decades as global temperatures have increased. February Temperature Highlights:
* February was 61st warmest in the contiguous U.S. and 15th warmest globally on record. For the U.S., the temperature was near average, 0.2 degrees F (0.1 degrees C) above the 20th century average of 34.7 degrees F (1.5 degrees C), which was 2.0 degrees F (1.1 degrees C) warmer than February 2007.
* Globally, the February average temperature was 0.68 degrees F/0.38 degrees C above the 20th century mean of 53.8 degrees F/12.1 degrees C.
