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 >

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
150 AM CDT TUE SEP 20 2005

...A SIGNIFICANT FLOOD EVENT OCCURRED IN MID-AUGUST...
...10TH COOLEST AUGUST ON RECORD FOR SAN ANGELO...

PRECIPITATION WAS ABOVE NORMAL AND TEMPERATURES AVERAGED BELOW
NORMAL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS IN AUGUST. AREAS OF THE BIG
COUNTRY...CONCHO VALLEY AND HEARTLAND RECEIVED MUCH ABOVE NORMAL
RAINFALL. THIS WAS MOST PRONOUNCED ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN
BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHWESTERN CONCHO VALLEY. 

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR AUGUST 
WAS 80.5 DEGREES. THIS WAS 2.1 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL AVERAGE 
TEMPERATURE OF 82.6 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR AUGUST WAS 
4.43 INCHES. THIS WAS 1.80 INCHES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 2.63 INCHES. 
ABILENE RECORDED NO DAYS WHERE THE HIGH TEMPERATURE REACHED 100 
DEGREES OR MORE.  

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 
AUGUST WAS 80.0 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1.3 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL 
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 81.3 DEGREES. THIS TIED THE 10TH COOLEST 
AUGUST ON RECORD FOR SAN ANGELO. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR AUGUST 
WAS 4.66 INCHES. THIS WAS 2.61 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 
2.05 INCHES. SAN ANGELO RECORDED NO DAYS WHERE THE HIGH TEMPERATURE 
REACHED 100 DEGREES OR MORE.  

JUNCTION RECORDED 3.01 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FOR AUGUST. THE HIGH
TEMPERATURE REACHED 100 DEGREES OR MORE ON 2 DAYS AT JUNCTION. 


AUGUST 2005 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

COOLER AND MUCH WETTER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED THROUGH 
THE FIRST HALF OF AUGUST...WHILE THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH WAS 
DRY AND WARMER.

WITH MOISTURE IN THE REGION...AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE BROUGHT
NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING OF THE 3RD. THE COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND 
STORMS WAS GREATEST SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20. SCATTERED LOCATIONS 
RECEIVED 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND STORMS 
OCCURRED AGAIN ON THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS OF 
THE 4TH. A FEW STRONG STORMS PRODUCED WIND GUSTS TO 49 MPH AT
THE ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...AND TO 45 MPH AT JUNCTION. 
SCATTERED LOCATIONS SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM HASKELL TO 
ABILENE TO STERLING CITY RECEIVED FROM 1.5 TO 3 INCHES OF 
RAINFALL...WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OVER 3 INCHES. 

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED IN WEST CENTRAL
TEXAS ON THE 7TH AND 9TH. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND STORMS AFFECTED
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SECTIONS OF THE REGION ON THE 8TH. SOME
LOCATIONS ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...HEARTLAND AND CONCHO VALLEY
RECEIVED 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL...WITH LOCALIZED HIGHER 
AMOUNTS. 

* SIGNIFICANT FLOOD EVENT IN MID-AUGUST *

THE ACCUMULATED RAINFALL DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE MONTH
SATURATED THE GROUND...ESPECIALLY IN THE BIG COUNTRY. THIS SET 
THE STAGE FOR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING WHEN A VERY WET PERIOD 
OCCURRED FROM THE 13TH TO 17TH. 

DURING THAT TIME SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH 
VERY HEAVY RAIN OCCURRED IN WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. THE GREATEST AND 
MOST PERSISTENT ACTIVITY AFFECTED THE BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN 
CONCHO VALLEY. THE LEAST AMOUNT OF RAIN (LESS THAN ONE HALF INCH) 
OCCURRED ALONG THE SOUTHERN AND SOUTHEASTERN FRINGES OF WEST 
CENTRAL TEXAS. RAINFALL TOTALS RANGED FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES OCCURRED 
ACROSS AREAS SOUTH OF A MERTZON TO SAN ANGELO TO ABILENE LINE. 
NORTH OF THIS LINE THE RAINFALL WAS GENERALLY ABOVE 3 INCHES 
ACROSS A LARGE AREA. AMOUNTS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES OCCURRED IN THE 
NORTHERN AND WESTERN BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHWEST CONCHO VALLEY. 
ROTAN REPORTED THE HIGHEST TOTAL OF 11.22 INCHES. 

THE VERY HEAVY RAIN CAUSED SIGNIFICANT FLOODING ACROSS MUCH OF 
THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN BIG COUNTRY. RESIDENCES AROUND LAKE 
STAMFORD EXPERIENCE MAJOR FLOODING WHEN THE LAKE LEVEL ROSE WELL
ABOVE THE SPILLWAY. MAJOR LOWLAND FLOODING OCCURRED ALONG THE 
CLEAR FORK OF THE BRAZOS RIVER NEAR FORT GRIFFIN. THIS AFFECTED 
NUMEROUS SECONDARY ROADS IN THE VICINITY...ALONG WITH PARTS OF 
FORT GRIFFIN STATE PARK. MODERATE FLOODING OCCURRED ALONG THE 
CALIFORNIA CREEK NEAR STAMFORD. FLOODING ALSO AFFECTED NUMEROUS 
OTHER ROADS ACROSS HASKELL...THROCKMORTON...JONES AND FISHER 
COUNTIES.

THIS HISTORICAL FLOODING WAS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AT LAKE 
STAMFORD SINCE 1978. A SIMILAR CREST ON THE CLEAR FORK OF 
THE BRAZOS RIVER WAS LAST OBSERVED IN 1957. FOR THE CALIFORNIA 
CREEK NEAR STAMFORD...A SIMILAR CREST WAS LAST OBSERVED IN 1962.
 
A PERIOD OF SEASONABLY HOT WEATHER OCCURRED LATE IN THE MONTH...
UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM ALOFT OVER THE 
REGION.

A THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX WITH HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS MOVED DOWN 
ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS OF THE 27TH 
AND 28TH. PEAK WIND GUSTS OF 43 MPH OCCURRED AT JUNCTION AND 41 MPH
AT SAN ANGELO. THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 1.5 INCHES 
ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20...WITH GREATER THAN 
2 INCH AMOUNTS IN SCATTERED POCKETS. 

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