WFO San Angelo Climatology

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
735 PM CST SAT MAR 4 2000

...FEBRUARY 2000 ENDS AMONG THE WARMEST ON RECORD...

THE UNUSUALLY WARM PATTERN THIS WINTER CONTINUED INTO FEBRUARY...WITH 
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN SAN ANGELO REACHING 57.6 DEGREES. THIS WAS 
THE WARMEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD...RUNNING 9.2 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. IN 
ABILENE...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 55.8 DEGREES...OR 8.4 DEGREES 
ABOVE NORMAL. THUS...FEBRUARY 2000 WAS THE FOURTH WARMEST ON RECORD IN 
ABILENE.

THE DROUGHT CONTINUED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS DURING FEBRUARY...WITH 
MEASURABLE RAIN FALLING ONLY ON THREE OCCASIONS. OVERALL...ABILENE 
FINISHED WITH JUST 0.44 INCH...COMPARED WITH THE NORMAL OF 1.16 
INCHES. SAN ANGELO WAS EVEN DRIER...RECORDING ONLY 0.23 INCH. THE 
NORMAL FOR SAN ANGELO IS 1.06 INCHES.

A GENERALLY WEST TO EAST UPPER LEVEL FLOW PATTERN PREDOMINATED ACROSS 
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THROUGH FEBRUARY. THIS ALLOWED FOR WARM AND DRY 
AIRMASSES TO PREVAIL FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME. THIS ALSO KEPT 
ARCTIC AIRMASSES DISPLACED WELL TO THE NORTH...AND PREVENTED ANY 
SIGNIFICANT COLD OUTBREAKS.

AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVED EASTWARD THROUGH WEST CENTRAL TEXAS 
ON THE 1ST AND 2ND. THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT AREAS OF RAIN AND DRIZZLE 
...ALONG WITH A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. MOST OF THE RAIN FELL EAST OF A 
LINE FROM ABILENE TO SAN ANGELO TO OZONA. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WERE 
GENERALLY LESS THAN ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH. SCATTERED LOCATIONS EAST 
OF A BALLINGER TO JUNCTION LINE RECEIVED ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF INCH 
AMOUNTS...WHILE A FEW LOCATIONS ACROSS THE HEARTLAND AND NORTHWEST 
HILL COUNTRY RECEIVED ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OF RAIN.

ON THE 22ND...A VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVED INTO WEST 
CENTRAL TEXAS...ALONG WITH A COLD FRONT. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS 
ACCOMPANIED THE COLD FRONT. RAINFALL AMOUNTS GENERALLY VARIED UNDER 
ONE INCH. THE HEAVIER TOTALS OCCURRED EAST OF A SWEETWATER TO SONORA 
LINE...WHERE SCATTERED ONE HALF TO ONE INCH AMOUNTS WERE REPORTED. 
SEVERAL REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL WERE RECEIVED AS THE STORMS MOVED 
ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY. IN ADDITION...A LARGE HAIL REPORT WAS ALSO 
RECEIVED FROM MCCULLOCH COUNTY. THE LARGEST HAIL REPORTED WAS 
GOLFBALL SIZE AT CLYDE IN CALLAHAN COUNTY.

ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND COLD FRONT MOVED ACROSS WEST 
CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE NIGHT OF THE 24TH AND EARLY ON THE 25 TH. THIS 
BROUGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...WHICH WERE MOST 
NUMEROUS OVER THE BIG COUNTRY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS GENERALLY VARIED 
UNDER ONE HALF INCH EAST OF A LINE FROM ABILENE TO SAN ANGELO TO 
OZONA. PARTS OF THE BIG COUNTRY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20 REPORTED ONE 
HALF TO ONE INCH AMOUNTS. WHEN THE COLD FRONT STALLED ACROSS THE 
SOUTHERN HEARTLAND AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU DURING THE EVENING 
AND EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS OF THE 25TH...ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED. A FEW LOCATIONS SOUTHEAST OF A SAN SABA TO 
JUNCTION LINE RECEIVED ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL. FOR MOST 
LOCATIONS HOWEVER...THE RAINFALL AMOUNTS VARIED UNDER ONE INCH.

ON FEBRUARY 10TH...SAN ANGELO SET A NEW RECORD HIGH OF 86 DEGREES. ON 
THE 15TH...SAN ANGELO SET A NEW RECORD HIGH OF 87 DEGREES...AND 
ABILENE SET A NEW RECORD HIGH OF 89 DEGREES.