AUGUST 2011 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEST-CENTRAL TEXAS

...WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD AT SAN ANGELO AND ABILENE...

PRECIPITATION FOR AUGUST VARIED WIDELY...RANGING FROM MUCH
ABOVE TO MUCH BELOW NORMAL. THE MONTHLY AMOUNTS WERE WELL-
ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS PARTS OF THE CONCHO VALLEY AND IN
SCATTERED POCKETS ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY EAST OF HIGHWAY 277.
RAINFALL AMOUNTS FOR THE MONTH WERE OVER 4 INCHES IN THESE
AREAS. NEAR NORMAL MONTHLY PRECIPIATION OCCURRED IN A FEW
POCKETS OF THE NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU...IN SUTTON AND
EASTERN CROCKETT COUNTIES. 

PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH WAS WELL-BELOW NORMAL IN AREAS OF
THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN BIG COUNTRY...AND ACROSS MUCH OF THE
AREA SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MERTZON TO EDEN TO GOLDTHWAITE. LESS
THAN 10 PERCENT OF NORMAL MONTHLY RAINFALL OCCURRED AT
NUMEROUS LOCATIONS ACROSS THAT AREA.     

THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE RAINFALL IN AUGUST OCCURRED ON A FEW
DAYS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH.  

TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL BY A LARGE MARGIN IN
IN AUGUST.

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
AUGUST WAS 90.3 DEGREES. THIS WAS 7.5 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 82.8 DEGREES. THIS MARKS THE WARMEST
AUGUST ON RECORD FOR ABILENE. IN ADDITION...THIS SETS A NEW
RECORD FOR THE WARMEST OF ANY MONTH ON RECORD. TOTAL
PRECIPITATION FOR AUGUST WAS 3.91 INCHES. THIS WAS 1.32 INCHES
ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 2.59 INCHES.

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
AUGUST WAS 89.7 DEGREES. THIS WAS 7.0 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 82.7 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR
AUGUST WAS 1.64 INCHES. THIS IS WHERE THE OFFICIAL RAINFALL IS
MEASURED. THIS WAS 0.62 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF
2.26 INCHES.

MOST OF THE CITY OF SAN ANGELO RECEIVED MUCH GREATER RAINFALL
THAN AT THE AIRPORT DURING AUGUST...DUE TO THE COVERAGE OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ON THE
13TH. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES WERE COMMON ACROSS
MOST OF THE CITY OF SAN ANGELO ON THE 13TH.  

THE NUMBER OF DAYS IN AUGUST WHERE HIGH TEMPERATURES REACHED
100 DEGREES OR MORE INCLUDE 27 AT ABILENE...28 AT SAN ANGELO...
AND 28 AT JUNCTION.

AUGUST 2011 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

DURING MOST OF AUGUST...AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM
REMAINED OVER THE REGION AND IN CLOSE ENOUGH PROXIMITY TO
INHIBIT SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. THIS SYSTEM
BROUGHT A CONTINUATION OF DRY AND VERY HOT CONDITIONS TO
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.

A TEMPORARY REPRIEVE OCCURRED BETWEEN AUGUST 11TH AND 14TH.
ON AUGUST 11TH AND TO A GREATER EXTENT AUGUST 13TH AND
14TH...MUCH NEEDED RAINFALL OCCURRED ACROSS SOME OF THE BIG
COUNTRY...CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN HEARTLAND. THE AIRMASS
BECAME VERY MOIST ACROSS THE REGION JUST BEFORE THE HEAVY
RAIN EVENT. AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY
HEAVY RAIN MOVED SOUTH ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY AND INTO THE
CONCHO VALLEY AND HEARTLAND BY THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 13TH.
THIS AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS STALLED ON THE MORNING
OF THE 13TH ACROSS THE CONCHO VALLEY AND HEARTLAND. SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL REDEVELOPED ON THE
MORNING OF THE 14TH...ACROSS PARTS OF THE CONCHO VALLEY...
NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM BALLINGER TO SAN ANGELO AND ACROSS
NORTHERN IRION AND SOUTHERN STERLING COUNTIES.

DURING THIS TIME PERIOD (13TH AND 14TH)...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF
2-4 INCHES...WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OVER 4 INCHES...OCCURRED
ACROSS MUCH OF SHACKELFORD...CALLAHAN... EASTERN AND SOUTHERN
TAYLOR COUNTY...AND ACROSS PARTS OF HASKELL...THROCKMORTON...
BROWN AND COLEMAN COUNTIES. ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT RECORDED
3.53 INCHES. HEAVY RAINFALL BETWEEN 2 AND 4 INCHES...WITH
POCKETS OF 4-6 INCH AMOUNTS...OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF
RUNNELS...SOUTHERN STERLING AND COKE COUNTIES...AND THE
NORTHERN PARTS OF CONCHO...TOM GREEN AND IRION COUNTIES. THE
HIGHEST 2-DAY RAINFALL TOTALS FROM THE 13TH AND 14TH WERE IN
THE RANGE OF 6-8 INCHES AT SOME LOCATIONS ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL
AND NORTHWESTERN TOM GREEN COUNTY.

WHERE THE HEAVY RAINFALL OCCURRED...MOST LOCATIONS RECEIVED IT
IN A SHORT DURATION (WITHIN A FEW HOURS). THIS LEAD TO SOME
RUNOFF AND STREET FLOODING. THE STREET FLOODING WAS MOST
EXTENSIVE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANGELO. THE RAIN AND INCREASED
CLOUD COVER HELPED TO HOLD TEMPERATURES DOWN ON THE 13TH AND
14TH...OFFERING A TEMPORARY REPRIEVE FROM THE 100-DEGREE
TEMPERATURES. A DISSIPATING THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED A WIND GUST
OF 49 MPH AT THE SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT ON THE 14TH.

LATE IN THE MONTH...SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
WITH DOWNBURST WINDS OCCURRED ACROSS PARTS OF THE BIG
COUNTRY...ON THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING OF THE 25TH. 
WIND DAMAGE WAS REPORTED IN SWEETWATER AREA. STRONG WINDS
DAMAGED A ROOF AT A GAS STATION...CAR PORT...AND ROOF OF A
HOME. WINDS ALSO CAUSED DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWER LINES...AND
TO BILLBOARDS ALONG SEVERAL MILES OF INTERSTATE 20. IN MORAN
(SHACKELFORD COUNTY)...LARGE TREE LIMBS WERE BLOWN DOWN. ONE
OF THE STORMS PRODUCED A WIND GUST OF 52 MPH AT THE ABILENE
REGIONAL AIRPORT.

NUMEROUS DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET OR TIED AT SAN
ANGELO AND ABILENE...AND ARE LISTED BELOW:

...SAN ANGELO...

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES:
5TH 107 TIED
9TH 107 NEW RECORD
25TH 104 TIED
28TH 108 NEW RECORD
29TH 107 NEW RECORD
30TH 106 TIED

RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURES:
3RD 79 TIED
5TH 82 NEW RECORD
6TH 81 TIED
7TH 81 NEW RECORD
8TH 81 NEW RECORD
10TH 81 NEW RECORD
17TH 78 TIED
30TH 84 NEW RECORD AND ALL-TIME RECORD

...ABILENE...

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES:
1ST 103 TIED
5TH 106 NEW RECORD
9TH 106 TIED
25TH 105 NEW RECORD
27TH 104 NEW RECORD
28TH 107 NEW RECORD
29TH 104 NEW RECORD

RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURES:
2ND 80 TIED
3RD 81 TIED
4TH 82 NEW RECORD
5TH 82 NEW RECORD
6TH 82 TIED
7TH 81 NEW RECORD
8TH 81 TIED
9TH 82 NEW RECORD
10TH 80 NEW RECORD
11TH 83 TIED
23RD 80 NEW RECORD
24TH 79 NEW RECORD
29TH 81 NEW RECORD
30TH 83 NEW RECORD
31ST 79 NEW RECORD

THE OCCURRENCE OF LOW TEMPERATURES OF 80 DEGREES OR ABOVE IS A
RELATIVELY RARE IN WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. HOWEVER...IN AUGUST...
ABILENE RECORDED 13 DAYS IN JULY WITH LOWS OF 80 DEGREES OR
ABOVE...AND SAN ANGELO RECORDED 7 DAYS WITH THESE LOWS.

IN ADDITION...THE LOW OF 84 DEGREES AT SAN ANGELO ON THE 30TH
NOT ONLY SET A NEW RECORD LOW FOR THAT DATE...BUT ALSO SET A
NEW RECORD FOR THE ALL-TIME WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE. RECORD
WARM LOW TEMPERATURES DATE BACK TO 1947 AT SAN ANGELO.

$$