Midwest

Weather Underground midday recap for Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

A low pressure system north of the Great Lakes produced a cold front that extended through the Plains on Wednesday. This system kicked up scattered showers in the Upper Midwest as well as in the Central and Southern Plains. Severe weather has not yet been reported with these storms, but nearly a half of an inch of rain fell in some areas along the front Wednesday morning. This system has not yet caused flooding problems.

To the East, a high pressure system over the East Coast started to move eastward on Wednesday. It was pushed east as the cold front approached, thus, New England saw increasingly cloudy skies, but no precipitation. In the Southeast, this high pressure system moved slightly eastward and blocked the incoming moist air from the ocean. This allowed for dry conditions and increased fire threats over the region.

In the West, a small trough of low pressure moved through the Northern Rocky Mountains on Wednesday. This was enough to kick up partly cloudy skies and a few light showers over the region. Further West, a ridge of high pressure remained over the West Coast. Fires continued to threatened southern California as warm and dry conditions persisted. Meanwhile, clouds increased over the Pacific Northwest as a trough of low pressure approached from the west.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday have ranged from a morning low of 12 degrees at Kremmling, Colo to a midday high of 98 degrees at Beaufort MCAS, SC.