Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms swept through Alabama and northern Florida today after large chunks of hail pelted portions of Louisiana and high winds ripped down power lines in Arkansas. Showers and thunderstorms eased over the Pacific Northwest early this morning. Strong thunderstorms developing late Thursday night along a cold front crossing Washington and Oregon produced strong and gusty winds. The Pendleton, Ore., and Yakima, Wash., airports recorded winds that whipped up to 60 mph. Thunderstorms over the lower Mississippi Valley on Thursday night produced one-inch-sized hail, while hail as big as golf balls lashed an area near Spearsville, La. In Norphlet, Ark., high winds downed power lines. Meanwhile, scattered showers that extended from Lake Michigan to southern Iowa early this morning were developing ahead of a cold front that was rapidly moving across the upper Midwest. Dry weather prevailed across the rest of the nation, with fair skies in most areas. Today's forecast called for showers and thunderstorms from the Ohio Valley into New England, with most from the eastern Great Lakes region through New York into Vermont; rain over the northern Pacific Coast region; and mostly sunny over the rest of the country. High temperatures were forecast in the 70s or 80s over much of the nation; in the 60s along the northern half of the Pacific Coast region into much of Washington, and from the upper Mississippi Valley into the lower Great Lakes region; in the 50s across the upper Great Lakes; in the 90s over Oklahoma and the inland areas of southern Texas; and in the upper 90s and nearing 110 over the desert Southwest. Temperatures around the nation at 3 a.m. EDT ranged from 31 degrees at Grand Forks, N.D., to 88 degrees at Phoenix, Ariz. Other reports: _East: Atlanta 69 cloudy; Boston 52 fair; Buffalo 68 windy; Charleston, S.C. 62 foggy; Cincinnati 62 fair; Cleveland 65 fair; Detroit 65 windy; Miami 75 fair; New York 54 fair; Philadelphia 54 fair; Pittsburgh 54 fair; Portland, Maine 45 fair; Washington 60 fair. _Central: Bismarck 38 fair; Dallas-Fort Worth 65 fair; Denver 57 fair; Des Moines 71 cloudy; Indianapolis 66 fair; Kansas City 69 fair; Minneapolis-St. Paul 47 windy; Nashville 60 cloudy; New Orleans 56 fair; St. Louis 70 fair. _West: Albuquerque 64 fair; Anchorage 48 showery; Las Vegas 86 fair; Los Angeles 63 fair; Phoenix 90 fair; Salt Lake City 61 fair; San Diego 64 fair; San Francisco 57 fair; Seattle 52 rain. _Canada: Montreal 59 rain; Toronto 66 windy.
