National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Powerful Storms to Impact the Western U.S. and Northern Plains

A strong, long-duration atmospheric river will bring excessive rainfall, flash flooding, and very strong winds to southwest Oregon and northwest California through Thursday. A High Risk (level 4 of 4) of Excessive Rainfall has been issued. A storm system over the northern Plains will produce locally heavy snow in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Read More >

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
730 PM CDT FRI MAY 3 2002

...SAN ANGELO RECORDED ITS 6TH WARMEST APRIL...

TEMPERATURES WERE ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS IN APRIL...
WHILE PRECIPITATION WAS BELOW NORMAL ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION. 

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR APRIL WAS 
67.4 DEGREES. THIS WAS 2.8 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE  
TEMPERATURE OF 64.6 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR APRIL WAS 0.46
INCHES. THIS WAS 1.21 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.67 INCHES.

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR APRIL WAS
71.1 DEGREES. THIS WAS 6.1 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE 
TEMPERATURE OF 65.0 DEGREES. THIS MARKS THE 6TH WARMEST APRIL ON 
RECORD. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR APRIL WAS 0.33 INCHES. THIS WAS 1.27 
INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.60 INCHES. 

APRIL 2002 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

THE WEATHER IN APRIL WAS HIGHLIGHTED BY SEVERAL SEVERE WEATHER 
EVENTS...A MAJOR FLASH FLOOD...AND UNSEASONABLY HOT CONDITIONS LATE IN
THE MONTH. 

A SIGNIFICANT AND WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE OCCURRED ACROSS 
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING OF THE 7TH. 
SEVERE STORMS ON THAT DAY BROUGHT TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING 
WINDS. A VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM INTERACTED WITH AN UNSTABLE
AIRMASS...HELPING TO TRIGGER THE STORMS. THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED 
RAPIDLY ALONG A DRYLINE AS IT APPROACHED WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. OTHER 
STORMS DEVELOPED ALONG A NEARLY STATIONARY FRONT WHICH EXTENDED WEST 
TO EAST ACROSS HASKELL AND THROCKMORTON COUNTIES.  

IN THROCKMORTON COUNTY...A SUPERCELL STORM SPAWNED THREE TORNADOES...
ONE OF WHICH BECAME LARGE. THIS LARGE TORNADO OCCURRED 5 TO 10 MILES 
NORTHWEST OF THE TOWN OF THROCKMORTON IN OPEN FIELDS. ANOTHER 
SUPERCELL STORM TRACKED ACROSS SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS...PRODUCING A TORNADO...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. A TORNADO
WAS REPORTED FROM THIS STORM ABOUT 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF OZONA. 
BASEBALL SIZE HAIL FROM THIS STORM CAUSED DAMAGE TO A RANCH ALONG THE
CROCKETT/SUTTON COUNTY LINE. THE STORM ALSO CAUSED WIND DAMAGE JUST 
WEST OF MENARD...AND PRODUCED LARGE HAIL IN FAR WESTERN MENARD COUNTY. 

NUMEROUS OTHER STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS OCCURRED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS ON THE 7TH. THESE STORMS PRODUCED LARGE HAIL TO GOLFBALL SIZE...
AND WIND DAMAGE WAS REPORTED IN WINTERS IN RUNNELS COUNTY.   

A FEW SEVERE STORMS OCCURRED IN PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 
12TH AND 13TH. ON THE 12TH...LARGE HAIL OCCURRED AROUND SAN ANGELO 
WITH HAIL UP TO QUARTER SIZE. ON THE 13TH...A BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN
WAS REPORTED 4 MILES EAST OF KATEMCY IN MASON COUNTY. NICKEL TO 
GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL ALSO OCCURRED AT A COUPLE OF LOCATIONS.

MAJOR FLASH FLOODING OCCURRED IN SHACKELFORD COUNTY INCLUDING THE 
ALBANY AREA ON THE 25TH...AS A RESULT OF PERSISTENT STATIONARY 
THUNDERSTORMS. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 9 TO 12 INCHES FELL WEST AND 
SOUTHWEST OF ALBANY. THE TOWN OF ALBANY RECEIVED 5 TO 7 INCHES OF 
RAIN. THE FLASH FLOODING UNFORTUNATELY CAUSED A FATALITY IN THE
ALBANY VICINITY...AS A MOBILE HOME WAS CARRIED BY THE FLOODWATERS. 
THE FLOODWATERS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE IN ALBANY.    

WITH A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE REGION...A SEVERE WEATHER EVENT
OCCURRED DURING THE EVENING AND EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS OF THE 29TH 
ACROSS THE EASTERN BIG COUNTRY. WIND DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AT A FEW 
LOCATIONS INCLUDING THE ABILENE AREA...WHERE VERY STRONG WINDS 
OVERTURNED AN 18 WHEEL TRUCK. LARGE HAIL TO GOLFBALL SIZE WAS REPORTED 
AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS.  THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL OF 1.5 TO 3 INCHES FELL 
OVER CALLAHAN AND SOUTHEAST SHACKELFORD COUNTIES.  

A PERIOD OF UNSEASONABLY HOT WEATHER OCCURRED LATE IN THE MONTH. SAN 
ANGELO RECORDED RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES ON THE 24TH AND 29TH. DAYTIME
HIGHS REACHED 100 DEGREES OR MORE IN SAN ANGELO ON THREE DAYS LATE IN
THE MONTH.