Frost, Snow and Rain Put End to Record Hot Spell

Frost warnings in Vermont, snowflakes on New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington, torrential rains in Iowa and a dip in Lake Erie’s temperature heralded the nation’s return to somewhat normal weather today after weeks of blistering, record-breaking heat that caused scores of deaths.

Some people even complained that it was too cold, meteorologist Joe Pace said in Buffalo, N.Y., where the temperature dipped to 46 degrees overnight.

Record low temperatures were set or tied early today at Boise, Ida., with 45 degrees; Harrisburg, Pa., at 50; Syracuse, N.Y., at 43; and Youngstown, Ohio, at 39. A 44-degree reading in Rochester, N.Y., missed the record by 1 degree.

Thunderstorms dumped more than 6 inches of rain on parts of Iowa early today, flooding some streets and curbing attendance at the Iowa State Fair.

Forecasters in Vermont said frost was possible in the state’s high valleys tonight. New Hampshire got an early dose of what’s to come this fall and winter on Sunday, as light snow fell on Mt. Washington, the Northeast’s highest peak at 6,288 feet above sea level.

The National Weather Service at Buffalo, N.Y., said Lake Erie’s water temperature dropped to 76 degrees this morning, down from the all-time record high of 80 degrees reported a week ago.

The workweek opened today with high temperatures in the 60s and 70s from the northern and Middle Atlantic states, across the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi Valley and into Montana. Highs in the 100-degree range were forecast only for northern Texas, central Kansas, Northern California and the desert Southwest. The 80s and low 90s were the rule elsewhere.

That contrasted with scorching weather a week ago that broke records in three dozen cities in 20 states and Washington and with summer-long heat that caused scores of deaths, including at least 45 in the Chicago area, 13 in St. Louis and 7 in Texas.

Temperatures in the Washington and Baltimore areas were in the upper 70s and low 80s today, a far cry from the previous Monday when both cities had a sweltering 103 degrees.