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 >
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 924 PM CDT WED MAY 6 2009 ...7TH WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD AT SAN ANGELO... ...TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS IN APRIL... PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH VARIED FROM WELL ABOVE NORMAL TO BELOW NORMAL. FOR MOST OF THE AREA NORTH OF A LINE FROM CROSS CUT TO OH IVIE RESERVOIR TO ROBERT LEE...THE MONTHLY AMOUNTS WERE BELOW NORMAL. FOR THE LARGE MAJORITY OF THE NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU...NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY...AND NORTHWARD ACROSS CONCHO...MCCULLOCH...AND SAN SABA COUNTIES...THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS WELL ABOVE NORMAL. FOR SOME OF THESE AREAS... APRIL PRECIPITATION TOTALS RANGED FROM 5 TO 8 INCHES. AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR APRIL WAS 65.8 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1.2 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 64.6 DEGREES. THIS TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR APRIL WAS 1.07 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.60 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.67 INCHES. AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR APRIL WAS 66.6 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1.6 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 65.0 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR APRIL WAS 4.61 INCHES. THIS WAS 3.01 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.60 INCHES. THIS MARKS THE 7TH WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD FOR SAN ANGELO. APRIL 2009 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS... THE WEATHER PATTERN WAS ACTIVE DURING APRIL. A POTENT UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM BROUGHT STRONG GUSTY WINDS TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 2ND. THIS SYSTEM DROPPED SOUTHEAST TO THE RED RIVER VALLEY DURING THE POST-MIDNIGHT HOURS OF THE 2ND...THEN TRACKED EAST ACROSS FAR SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA. WITH THE APPROACHO OF THIS SYSTEM...A BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED AND AFFECTED THE REGION SOUTHEAST OF A BROWNWOOD TO CHRISTOVAL TO OZONA LINE. SCATTERED LOCATIONS RECEIVED ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF INCH RAINFALL AMOUNTS...AND A FEW LOCATIONS RECEIVED MORE THAN ONE HALF INCH. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FROM THIS SYSTEM WAS THE STRONG GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS... WHICH FOLLOWED A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE. ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SECTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...WIND SPEEDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH OCCURRED WITH SOME GUSTS OVER 50 MPH. PEAK WIND GUSTS INCLUDED 57 MPH AT ABILENE AND 58 MPH AT SAN ANGELO. THE WINDS GRADUALLY SUBSIDED DURING THE AFTERNOON OF THE 2ND...AS THE STORM SYSTEM MOVED AWAY FROM THE REGION. A COLD FRONT MOVED THROUGH WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 5TH. IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING THIS COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE...A STRONG HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVED FROM CANADA DOWN ACROSS THE PLAINS STATES AND INTO TEXAS. AFTER A VERY WARM DAY WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S ON THE 4TH...TEMPERATURES WERE MUCH COOLER ON THE 5TH AND 6TH. ON THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 7TH...CLEAR SKIES...LIGHT WINDS AND STRONG RADIATIONAL COOLING ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO DIP INTO THE 20S FOR LOWS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. A RECORD LOW OF 26 DEGREES WAS SET AT SAN ANGELO...AND A RECORD LOW OF 28 DEGREES WAS TIED AT ABILENE. WITH A COMBINATION OF A RATHER DRY AIRMASS...GUSTY SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS AND CONSIDERABLE SUNSHINE...TEMPERATURES SOARED INTO THE 90 TO 95 DEGREE RANGE FOR HIGHS ON THE 8TH. THIS WAS A TEMPERATURE CHANGE 60 TO 70 DEGREES IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM BROUGHT STRONG GUSTY WINDS...WARM AND VERY DRY AIR AS IT MOVED EAST INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND THE RED RIVER VALLEY ON THE 9TH. THE STRONGEST WINDS AFFECTED THE BIG COUNTRY. PEAK WIND GUSTS INCLUDED 58 MPH AT ABILENE AND 52 MPH AT SAN ANGELO. A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS IN THE BIG COUNTRY (SWEETWATER AND 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF STAMFORD) ALSO RECORDED WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 55 AND 60 MPH. RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES DROPPED INTO THE RANGE OF 5-10 PERCENT ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. WITH THE COMBINATION OF WARM TEMPERATURES IN THE 80S...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND VERY DRY AIR...SEVERAL GRASS FIRES OCCURRED ACROSS THE REGION. ANOTHER POTENT STORM SYSTEM MOVED ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES AND APPROACHED TEXAS WITH A TRACK FARTHER TO THE SOUTH THAN THE PREVIOUS SYSTEMS. WITH A FRONTAL SYSTEM AND MOISTURE IN THE REGION...A LARGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVED EAST ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...FROM THE EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS OF THE 11TH INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THE 12TH. A COUPLE OF STORMS WERE SEVERE. GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED AT RULE (HASKELL COUNTY)...AND NICKEL SIZE HAIL OCCURRED 8 MILES WEST AND 5 MILES SOUTH OF ROBY (FISHER COUNTY). ABILENE RECORDED A PEAK WIND GUST OF 47 MPH ON THE EVENING OF THE 11TH...WELL BEFORE ANY OF THE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHED FROM THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST. THE GREATEST RAINFALL AMOUNTS FOR THIS EVENT...IN THE RANGE OF ONE HALF TO 1.5 INCHES...OCCURRED ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN BIG COUNTRY. ONE HALF TO ONE INCH AMOUNTS OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF THE HEARTLAND...AND ACROSS AREAS OF THE CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU. ELSEWHERE THE RAINFALL AMOUNTS WERE GENERALLY BETWEEN ONE QUARTER AND ONE HALF INCH. A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVED EAST ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FROM THE POST MIDNIGHT HOURS INTO THE MORNING OF THE 17TH...AS AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM APPROACHED FROM NEW MEXICO. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED QUARTER SIZE HAIL AT CHEROKEE (SAN SABA COUNTY). HEAVY RAIN CAUSED STREET FLOODING IN SONORA. FLOODING WAS ALSO REPORTED ON HIGHWAY 202 JUST NORTHEAST OF SONORA. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL OCCURRED ACROSS THE HEARTLAND...NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU...WHERE AMOUNTS BETWEEN 1 AND 2.5 INCHES WERE COMMON. FARTHER TO THE NORTH ACROSS THE CONCHO VALLEY AND BIG COUNTRY...SCATTERED LOCATIONS RECEIVED RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN THE RANGE OF ONE HALF TO 1.5 INCHES. A NARROW NORTH TO SOUTH BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED OVER THE WESTERN BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN CONCHO VALLEY ON THE EVENING OF THE 17TH...IN THE VICINITY OF A DRYLINE. RAINFALL AMOUNTS VARIED UNDER ONE HALF INCH. HOT TEMPERATURES OCCURRED ON THE 21ST AND 22ND...WHEN HIGHS WERE IN THE 90S. A RECORD HIGH OF 97 DEGREES WAS TIED AT ABILENE ON THE 22ND. VERY STRONG WINDS OCCURRED ACROSS A SMALL PART OF THE CONCHO VALLEY...FROM BIG LAKE TO SAN ANGELO...DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THE 26TH. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE RESULT OF SUBSIDING AIR FROM SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE SOUTH...AND POSSIBLY FROM A LOCALIZED HEATBURST EVENT. A PEAK WIND GUST OF 63 MPH WAS RECORDED AT THE SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT. THESE HIGH WINDS CAUSED MULTIPLE POWER OUTAGES IN THE SAN ANGELO AREA. A SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAIN EVENT OCCURRED ON THE 26TH AND 27TH...AS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES MOVED EAST INTO THE REGION AND INTERACTED WITH A VERY MOIST AIRMASS. SUPERCELL SEVERE STORMS TRACKED EAST ACROSS THE FAR SOUTHERN PART OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...FROM CROCKETT TO KIMBLE COUNTIES. THESE STORMS PRODUCED HAIL TO GOLFBALL SIZE AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS...AND HAIL TO HEN EGG SIZE WAS REPORTED NEAR SONORA. SOME HAIL AND WIND DAMAGE WAS REPORTED IN AND AROUND SONORA. OTHER SCATTERED SEVERE STORMS PRODUCED NICKEL SIZE HAIL AT STERLING CITY...SAN ANGELO...AND BRADY. THE STORMS WERE MOST NUMEROUS ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...AND THE STORMS CONTAINED VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE HEAVIEST RAIN AFFECTED THE SOUTHEASTERN PART OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...WHERE AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES WERE REPORTED. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES WERE COMMON ACROSS MUCH OF THE CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU...AND PARTS OF THE HEARTLAND. WITH THE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...FLASH FLOODING OF ROADS OCCURRED AT NUMEROUS LOCATIONS ACROSS SUTTON AND KIMBLE COUNTIES. A COUPLE OF ROADS WERE FLOODED IN MCCULLOCH COUNTY...AND STREET FLOODING WAS REPORTED IN SAN ANGELO. WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS ALONG WITH THE PRESENCE OF AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY...THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ACROSS THE NORTHERN BIG COUNTRY ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 29TH. THESE STORMS OCCURRED GENERALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM ROBY TO ALBANY. SEVERAL OF THE STORMS PRODUCED LARGE HAIL. THE LARGEST HAIL SIZE REPORTS INCLUDED GOLFBALL SIZE 22 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THROCKMORTON...AND HALF DOLLAR SIZE 5 MILES WEST OF HAMLIN. RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGED FROM ONE HALF TO 1.5 INCHES. $$