PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
1230 AM CST SAT MAR 6 2004

...TENTH WETTEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD FOR ABILENE...

TEMPERATURES AVERAGED BELOW NORMAL AND PRECIPITATION WAS ABOVE 
NORMAL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS IN FEBRUARY.

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR FEBRUARY 
WAS 45.0 DEGREES. THIS WAS 3.6 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL AVERAGE  
TEMPERATURE OF 48.6 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR FEBRUARY WAS 
2.90 INCHES. THIS WAS 1.77 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.13 
INCHES. FOR ABILENE...THIS MARKS THE TENTH WETTEST FEBRUARY ON 
RECORD. ABILENE RECEIVED 3.4 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IN FEBRUARY. 

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 
FEBRUARY WAS 46.9 DEGREES. THIS WAS 2.8 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 49.7 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR 
FEBRUARY WAS 1.72 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.54 INCHES ABOVE THE 
MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.18 INCHES. SAN ANGELO RECORDED THREE TENTHS 
OF AN INCH OF SNOWFALL IN FEBRUARY.


FEBRUARY 2004 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

AN ACTIVE SOUTHERN BRANCH OF THE JET STREAM ALLOWED SEVERAL 
STORM SYSTEMS TO TRACK EASTWARD INTO TEXAS. THIS RESULTED IN 
ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPTATION FOR THE MONTH IN WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS.   

SCATTERED SHOWERS OCCURRED ON THE 4TH ALONG WITH PATCHY FOG 
AND DRIZZLE...AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVED INTO WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS. A FEW LOCATIONS ACROSS THE HEARTLAND...
EASTERN CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU RECEIVED
ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF INCH OF RAIN. OTHERWISE THE AMOUNTS 
WERE LESS THAN ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH.

STRONG GUSTY SOUTH WINDS OCCURRED ON THE 8TH ACROSS WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS...OUT AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM 
WHICH MOVED INTO THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES. PEAK WIND 
GUSTS INCLUDED 47 MPH AT ABILENE AND 44 MPH AT SAN ANGELO. 

AFTER A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE ON THE 9TH...COLD AIR FILTERED
DOWN INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS AND PERSISTED FOR A FEW DAYS.
SCATTERED SHOWERS OCCURRED AT TIMES...AND TOTAL RAINFALL 
AMOUNTS GENERALLY VARIED UNDER ONE HALF INCH.

A PERIOD OF SNOW OCCURRED FROM THE LATE EVENING OF THE 13TH 
TO THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 14TH...AND WAS CAUSED BY A STORM 
SYSTEM WHICH TRACKED FROM NEW MEXICO EASTWARD ACROSS WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS...ROUGHLY ALONG INTERSTATE 20. THE BIG COUNTRY
RECEIVED BETWEEN 1 AND 3 INCHES OF SNOW. UP TO AN INCH OF 
SNOW FELL IN THE EASTERN HEARTLAND. ELSEWHERE THE SNOW 
AMOUNTS WERE LESS THAN ONE INCH. ABILENE RECORDED JUST UNDER 
ON INCH OF SNOW...WHILE SAN ANGELO RECORDED THREE TENTHS OF 
AN INCH.

A STORM SYSTEM TRACKED INTO NORTHWESTERN TEXAS FROM NEW MEXICO 
AND BROUGHT GUSTY SOUTH WINDS TO THE REGION ON THE 19TH. A PEAK 
GUST OF 44 MPH OCCURRED AT ABILENE. WARM TEMPERATURES ALSO 
OCCURRED...AND ABILENE RECORDED ITS FIRST 80 DEGREE HIGH 
TEMPERATURE SINCE NOVEMBER 22ND OF LAST YEAR. SOME BLOWING DUST 
OCCURRED IN THE BIG COUNTRY. 

A STRONG STORM SYSTEM IMPACTED WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FROM THE 23RD 
TO THE 25TH. AS THIS STORM SYSTEM TRACKED FROM THE SOUTHWESTERN 
STATES INTO WEST TEXAS...ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS 
WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN OCCURRED. SCATTERED LOCATIONS 
ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...HEARTLAND AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU
RECEIVED 2 TO 3.5 INCHES OF RAIN. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 
INCHES WERE FAIRLY WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE AREA. PART OF THE
NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY (EAST OF A LINE FROM MENARD TO JUNCTION)
RECEIVED THE LEAST AMOUNTS...GENERALLY UNDER ONE HALF INCH.  
A FEW STORMS OVER SOUTHWESTERN SECTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
PRODUCED SMALL HAIL. THE STORM SYSTEM HELPED TO DRAW COLD AIR 
DOWN INTO THE REGION...AND THIS ALLOWED THE RAIN TO MIX WITH 
AND CHANGE TO SNOW ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN 
CONCHO VALLEY ON THE NIGHT OF THE 24TH. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 
1 TO 3 INCHES OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF THE BIG COUNTRY. 
ABILENE RECORDED 2 INCHES. TEMPERATURES ONLY RECOVERED INTO 
THE 35 TO 40 DEGREE RANGE FOR HIGHS ON THE 25TH...AND THIS 
WAS 25 TO 30 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.  

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS MOVED EASTWARD
ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS OF THE 
29TH...AS ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM MOVED INTO TEXAS FROM THE 
SOUTHWESTERN STATES. A DOWNBURST OF WIND CAUSED DAMAGE AT 
KENNEDY PARK IN THE SOUTHEASTERN CORNER OF RUNNELS COUNTY. 
WIND GUSTS IN THAT VICINITY WERE MEASURED AT 77 MPH AND 59 
MPH. A PEAK WIND GUST OF 49 MPH WAS RECORDED AT SAN ANGELO. 
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH WERE COMMON ACROSS
THE BIG COUNTRY...WHILE AREAS FARTHER SOUTH GENERALLY 
RECEIVED LESS THAN ONE HALF INCH. 

$$