DECEMBER 2010 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEST-CENTRAL TEXAS

...TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS                                                                                                                                                                      IN DECEMBER...

TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH WAS NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW
NORMAL ACROSS MOST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. MONTHLY PRECIPITATION
AMOUNTS WERE IN THE 1 TO 2 INCH RANGE AT SOME LOCATIONS ACROSS
THE BIG COUNTRY...CONCHO VALLEY AND HEARTLAND. THE MONTHLY
AMOUNTS WERE IN THE RANGE OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH ACROSS MOST OF
THE REMAINDER OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONTHLY
PRECIPITATION OCCURRED ACROSS NORTHWESTERN FISHER COUNTY...PART
OF SAN SABA COUNTY...PARTS OF THE WESTERN CONCHO VALLEY...AND
ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MERTZON TO ELDORADO
TO MASON. ACROSS THOSE AREAS...THE MONTHLY AMOUNTS VARIED UNDER
ONE HALF INCH. 

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
DECEMBER WAS 49.0 DEGREES. THIS WAS 3.6 DEGREES ABOVE THE
NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 45.4 DEGREES. THIS MARKS THE 9TH
COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD FOR ABILENE. TOTAL PRECIPITATION
FOR ABILENE IN DECEMBER WAS 1.20 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.07 INCHES
BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.27 INCHES. NO SNOWFALL WAS

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
FOR DECEMBER WAS 50.1 DEGREES. THIS WAS 3.7 DEGREES ABOVE THE
NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 46.4 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION
FOR SAN ANGELO IN DECEMBER WAS 0.99 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.05
INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 0.94 INCHES.

NO SNOWFALL WAS RECORDED AT ABILENE AND SAN ANGELO IN DECEMBER.

DECEMBER 2010 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

RATHER DRY AIRMASSES OCCUPIED THE REGION DURING THE MONTH.
WITH THE COMBINATION OF THE DRY AIR AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...
LARGE TEMPERATURE SWINGS (40 TO 50 DEGREES IN SOME CASES)
OCCURRED BETWEEN THE EARLY MORNING LOWS AND AFTERNOON HIGHS...
ON A NUMBER OF DAYS.

WITH DRY AIRMASSES AND THE PREVAILING TRACK OF STORM SYSTEMS
TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA...NO PRECIPITATION OCCURRED UNTIL LATE
IN THE MONTH.

SEVERAL PERIODS OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WERE INTERSPERSED
WITH FAIRLY STRONG BUT DRY COLD FRONTAL PASSAGES. THE COLD
FRONTS BROUGHT INTRUSIONS OF COLDER AIR WHICH LINGERED OVER THE
REGION FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER EACH FRONTAL PASSAGE.

NEW RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE SET AT ABILENE AND SAN ANGELO
ON A FEW DAYS BETWEEN THE 15TH AND 21ST...WHEN TEMPERATURES
SOARED INTO THE 80S FOR HIGHS.

MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH OCCURRED IN ONE RAIN
EVENT...ON THE 24TH. THIS WAS AN APPRECIABLE RAIN EVENT...AS NO
MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION HAD OCCURRED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
IN NEARLY 2 MONTHS (SINCE OCTOBER 23RD). WITH THE APPROACH AND
ARRIVAL OF A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WITH A TRACK
FARTHER TO THE SOUTH ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED AND WERE WIDESPREAD IN COVERAGE ON THE
24TH.

AFTER A PERIOD OF DRY CONDITIONS FROM THE 25TH TO 27TH...LOW-
LEVEL MOISTURE RETURNED TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. PATCHY DENSE
FOG AND SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS OCCURRED DURING THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS OF THE 28TH AND 29TH...WHEN VISIBILITY DROPPED
TO ONE QUARTER OF A MILE OR LESS AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS. WITH
THE APPROACH AND ARRIVAL OF AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE...
SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS OCCURRED ACROSS THE AREA EAST OF
A LINE FROM SONORA TO ABILENE TO HASKELL. RAINFALL AMOUNTS
WERE MOSTLY LESS THAN ONE TENTH OF AN INCH. ON THE 31ST...AN
UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE INTERACTED WITH COLDER AIR AND BROUGHT
A FEW SPRINKLES OF RAIN AND SNOW FLURRIES TO PARTS OF THE BIG
COUNTRY. WITH DRY AIR IN THE LOWER LEVELS HOWEVER...THE
PRECIPITATION WAS VERY LIGHT. 

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