The Nation's Weather 08.17.09

By WEATHER UNDERGROUND

Two major storms were forecast to produce significant weather activity across the nation Monday.

First, Tropical Storm Claudette was to push across the Florida Panhandle and advance through southern and western Alabama throughout the day. While this storm was expected to weaken as it moved inland, heavy downpours and dangerous winds were to yield to hazardous conditions across the Panhandle and Big Bend regions of Florida, central and southern Alabama and the southwestern corner of Georgia.

Rainfall accumulations were expected to range between 3 to 10 inches and would put most of the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama at risk for flash flooding. Dangerous winds with gusts near 45 mph were also forecast to spread into inland, creating a chance for minor property damage and isolated power outages.

Second, a cold front was forecast to produce unsettling weather activity as it stretched from the Upper Great Lakes through the Central Plains. Abundant moisture would enhance instability across these regions, leading to scattered to widespread showers, isolated heavy rainfall, and thunderstorms from the southwestern corner of Michigan through Illinois, Missouri, and eastern Kansas. There was a slight chance for severe weather development from the Central and Southern Plains through the Mid- to Upper Mississippi Valleys.

Elsewhere, a ridge of high pressure was expected to bring warmer and quiet weather to the West, while another ridge would produce seasonable temperatures in the Northeast.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Sunday ranged from a low of 28 degrees at Yellowstone, Wyo., to a high of 114 degrees at Bullhead City, Ariz.