June may exit with more rain

June 29, 1998|By DON AINES

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Tri-State area weathered some severe storms during June, and the month may go out with yet more thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.

Weather Service Meteorologist Rick Winther said Monday the region can expect showers and thunderstorms today as a cold front pushes through the area from the Ohio Valley. Some of those thunderstorms could be severe, he said.

"Just normal, active summertime weather," Winther said.

"You have a very active jet stream just north of the area," Winther said of the band of fast-moving winds in the stratosphere that can affect the weather. He said that "normally migrates into Canada at this time of year."

The jet stream can prevent warm, humid air from moving farther north, allowing a relatively weak disturbance to bring on stormy weather, Winther said.

"There's plenty of moisture to be wrung out," he said.

Winther said temperatures and rainfall have been fairly typical for June.

Typical summer weather can include some severe storms. The Tri-State area was pounded by heavy storms on June 16, when at least three tornadoes touched down in Washington County, according to National Weather Service officials who surveyed the damage.

North of the Mason-Dixon line, the weather has been less dramatic, although a weak tornado hit on June 16 in McConnellsburg, Pa.

Jerry Ashway, a weather observer in Greene Township, Pa., said the 4.47 inches of rain he recorded through Monday was slightly more than normal for June and temperatures were averaging about half a degree below historic norms.

"We never had any one day with more than an inch of rain" in the Chambersburg area, he said.

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