WFO San Angelo Climatology

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
1042 PM CST TUE MAR 4 2008

...10TH WARMEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD FOR SAN ANGELO...

TEMPERATURES FOR THE MONTH AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL. PRECIPITATION
FOR FEBRUARY WAS BELOW NORMAL ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.
ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM ROTAN TO SAN
ANGELO TO RICHLAND SPRINGS...THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS LESS
THAN 25 PERCENT OF NORMAL. A FEW POCKETS ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY
RECEIVED AMOUNTS WHICH WERE NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL.

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR FEBRUARY
WAS 52.2 DEGREES. THIS WAS 3.6 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE OF 48.6 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR FEBRUARY WAS
0.77 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.36 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.13
INCHES.

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
FEBRUARY WAS 54.3 DEGREES. THIS WAS 4.6 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 49.7 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR
FEBRUARY WAS 0.30 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.88 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY
NORMAL OF 1.18 INCHES.


FEBRUARY 2008 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

WITH A WARM AND DRY AIRMASS BEHIND A DRYLINE WHICH ADVANCED EAST
ACROSS WEST-CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 4TH...TEMPERATURES REACHED THE
MID 80S FOR HIGHS. A NEW RECORD HIGH OF 86 DEGREES OCCURRED AT
SAN ANGELO...AND A RECORD HIGH OF 85 DEGREES WAS TIED AT ABILENE.

DRY AIRMASSES OCCUPIED THE REGION DURING MOST OF THE FIRST HALF
OF THE MONTH.

GUSTY SOUTH WINDS OCCURRED ON THE 14TH. SAN ANGELO RECORDED A
PEAK WIND GUST OF 44 MPH WHILE ABILENE RECORDED A 41 MPH GUST.
AFTER TEMPERATURES CLIMBED INTO THE 70S FOR HIGHS ON THE 14TH...
A STRONG COLD FRONT DROPPED SOUTH ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS OF THE 14TH AND 15TH.

A POTENT STORM SYSTEM BROUGHT SOME SEVERE WEATHER AND WINTER
WEATHER TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 15TH AND 16TH. IT IS AN
UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCE FOR OUR AREA TO EXPERIENCE SEVERE WEATHER
AND WINTER WEATHER AT THE SAME TIME. COLD AIR BECAME WEDGED
DOWN INTO WEST-CENTRAL TEXAS. FROM THE EVENING OF THE 15TH INTO
THE MORNING OF THE 16TH...TEMPERATURES WERE AT OR SLIGHTLY
BELOW FREEZING ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...AND GENERALLY IN THE
30S ELSEWHERE. WITH THE APPROACH OF THE STORM SYSTEM FROM
THE WEST...A SOUTHERLY FLOW OF WARM AND MOIST AIR UP AND OVER
THE COLD DOME ALLOWED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP
ACROSS THE REGION. THE STRONGEST STORMS CONTAINED HAIL. ONE
STORM PRODUCED QUARTER TO GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL JUST WEST AND
NORTH OF ABILENE (AT TYE AND JUST SOUTHEAST OF HAWLEY). THE
ACCUMULATION OF HAIL RESULTED IN NUMEROUS TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
ALONG INTERSTATE 20 JUST WEST OF ABILENE. WITH TEMPERATURES AT
OR JUST BELOW FREEZING ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...THE SHOWERS
AND STORMS BROUGHT FREEZING RAIN TO THAT AREA...ALONG WITH
SOME ICE ACCUMULATION. SINCE THE GROUND WAS STILL RELATIVELY
WARM AND SINCE TEMPERATURES WERE NEAR THE FREEZING MARK...THE
ICE ACCUMULATION WAS MOSTLY ON TREES AND ELEVATED OBJECTS. UP
TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH OF ICE WAS REPORTED ON TREES IN THE
ABILENE AREA. CONDITIONS WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE...
ESPECIALLY ON ROAD SURFACES...HAD TEMPERATURES BEEN A FEW
DEGREES COLDER.

THE COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
WAS WIDESPREAD ON THE 16TH. A FEW LOCATIONS ACROSS THE BIG
COUNTRY RECEIVED ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OF PRECIPITATION FROM
THIS EVENT. AMOUNTS ACROSS THE REST OF WEST-CENTRAL TEXAS
VARIED UNDER ONE HALF INCH.

GUSTY SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS OCCURRED IN WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON
THE 23RD...AND THE ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT RECORDED A PEAK GUST
OF 41 MPH ON THAT DATE.

AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVED INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS
ON THE 25TH...STRONG GUSTY SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS OCCURRED IN
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. UNSEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES ACCOMPANIED
THESE WINDS...AND TEMPERATURES CLIMBED TO OR ABOVE 90 DEGREES
FOR HIGHS ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. THE COMBINATION OF THE
STRONG WINDS...VERY WARM TEMPERATURES AND A VERY DRY AIRMASS
RESULTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUMEROUS GRASS FIRES. ABOUT A
DOZEN FIRES WERE REPORTED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. A COLD
FRONT DROPPED SOUTH ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE EVENING
OF THE 25TH...SHIFTING THE WINDS TO THE NORTH MAKING FIREFIGHTING
EFFORTS MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE ONGOING GRASS FIRES. SAN ANGELO
RECORDED A PEAK WIND GUST OF 45 MPH ON THE 25TH...AND ABILENE
RECORDED A 44 MPH GUST.

$$