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
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
1240 AM CDT WED MAY 7 2003

...SIXTH DRIEST APRIL ON RECORD AT SAN ANGELO...

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 
APRIL WAS 66.9 DEGREES. THIS WAS 2.3 DEGREES ABOVE THE 
NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 64.6 DEGREES. TOTAL 
PRECIPITATION FOR APRIL WAS 0.60 INCHES. THIS WAS 1.07 
INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.67 INCHES.

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 
FOR APRIL WAS 68.1 DEGREES. THIS WAS 3.1 DEGREES ABOVE 
THE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 65.0 DEGREES. TOTAL 
PRECIPITATION FOR APRIL WAS ONLY 0.06 INCHES. THIS WAS 
1.54 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.60 INCHES.


...APRIL 2003 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

DURING APRIL...THE RAIN WHICH FELL OVER WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
OCCURRED IN THE FORM OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...AND MANY
LOCATIONS RECEIVED LITTLE RAINFALL. THE UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCES PASSED A LITTLE TOO FAR TO THE NORTH OF 
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS TO ALLOW FOR WIDESPREAD RAIN COVERAGE.
MOISTURE RETURN FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO WAS ALSO LIMITED. 
ON A FEW OCCASIONS...DRYLINES MOVED EAST ACROSS WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS AND WERE FOLLOWED BY WARM...BREEZY AND VERY DRY 
CONDITIONS. DESPITE THE LIMITED COVERAGE OF RAINFALL...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. 

A LARGE SUPERCELL STORM BROUGHT TORNADOES...VERY LARGE HAIL
AND DAMAGING WINDS TO THE NORTHERN BIG COUNTRY ON THE 
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING OF THE 5TH. THIS STORM DEVELOPED
ALONG THE INTERSECTION OF A DRYLINE AND STATIONARY FRONT 
NEAR ASPERMONT. THE STORM TRACKED EASTWARD ALONG THE 
STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS NORTHERN FISHER...HASKELL...AND
THROCKMORTON COUNTIES. A TORNADO WAS SIGHTED IN NORTHWEST
FISHER COUNTY NEAR ROTAN...AND ADDITIONAL BRIEF TORNADO
TOUCHDOWNS WERE REPORTED AS THE STORM MOVED TO THE EAST. AN 
82 MPH WIND GUST WAS MEASURED NEAR STAMFORD...AND
QUARTER TO GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL OCCURRED AROUND HASKELL.
HIGH WINDS AND GRAPEFRUIT TO SOFTBALL SIZE HAIL IN WOODSON 
CAUSED CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE.  

WITH THE APPROACH OF AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND 
DRYLINE...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON THE 
EVENING OF THE 15TH ACROSS FAR NORTHERN PARTS OF HASKELL
AND THROCKMORTON COUNTIES. STRONG SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS 
AHEAD OF THE DRYLINE OCCURRED. PEAK GUSTS INCLUDED 49 MPH
AT ABILENE AND 44 MPH AT SAN ANGELO. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
ALSO OCCURRED OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
DURING THE POST-MIDNIGHT HOURS OF THE 16TH...WITH THE 
STRONGEST STORMS OVER SOUTHERN COLEMAN AND SOUTHERN BROWN
COUNTIES. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM 0.75 INCHES TO 1.5 INCHES
OCCURRED WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS.

ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND DRYLINE MOVED INTO 
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS AND TRIGGERED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
FROM THE EVENING OF THE 18TH INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS 
OF THE 19TH. THE STRONGEST STORM TRACKED FROM SOUTHERN 
SUTTON INTO CENTRAL MENARD COUNTY. RAINFALL OF ONE TO TWO
INCHES OCCURRED WITH THIS STORM...WHILE AMOUNTS WITH THE
OTHER STORMS WERE GENERALLY UNDER ONE HALF INCH. STRONG
SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS ALSO OCCURRED AHEAD OF THE
DRYLINE...AND A PEAK GUST OF 45 MPH WAS RECORDED IN 
ABILENE. 

A FEW SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS ALSO OCCURRED LATE
IN THE MONTH. A WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER EVENT OCCURRED 
ON THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING OF THE 23RD...AS AN UPPER 
LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVED INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS FROM 
THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES...AND A SHARP DRYLINE ADVANCED
EASTWARD THROUGH WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. A NORTH TO SOUTH
BROKEN LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED...AND 
MOVED EASTWARD ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. A BRIEF TORNADO 
TOUCHDOWN WAS REPORTED 3 MILES WEST OF MORAN. NUMEROUS 
REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL FROM NICKEL TO GOLFBALL SIZE WERE 
RECEIVED. THE LARGEST HAIL REPORT WAS BASEBALL SIZE IN 
CROCKETT COUNTY...25 MILES SOUTH OF OZONA. A TOTAL OF 
23 SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS WERE RECEIVED FROM THIS EVENT.
RAINFALL WAS SCATTERED BUT LOCALLY HEAVY. RAINFALL 
AMOUNTS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES OCCURRED ALONG THE PATH OF 
THE STRONGEST STORMS. GUSTY SOUTH WINDS AHEAD OF THE
DRYLINE RESULTED IN A PEAK GUST OF 43 MPH IN SAN ANGELO.

A THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX BROUGHT 62 MPH WINDS AND WIND 
DAMAGE TO SWEETWATER...ALONG WITH PENNY SIZE HAIL IN 
ROBERT LEE...ON THE EVENING OF THE 28TH.

ANOTHER WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER EVENT OCCURRED ON THE 
EVENING AND EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS OF THE 29TH. A TORNADO
WAS REPORTED NEAR BLACKWELL. THE LARGEST HAIL REPORTS
INCLUDED BASEBALL SIZE AT TUSCOLA (TAYLOR COUNTY) AND 
TENNIS BALL SIZE NEAR MARYNEAL (NOLAN COUNTY)...AND 
GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED AT A FEW OTHER LOCATIONS.
FLASH FLOODING OCCURRED NEAR HATCHELL IN RUNNELS COUNTY.
A TOTAL OF 26 SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS WERE RECEIVED.

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