WFO San Angelo Climatology

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
228 PM CST THU APR 4 2002

...TEMPERATURES AVERAGED BELOW NORMAL WHILE PRECIPITATION 
TOTALED ABOVE NORMAL FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS IN MARCH...

SEVERE STORMS SPAWNED TORNADOES IN PARTS OF THE REGION ON TWO
OCCASIONS DURING MARCH. 

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR MARCH 
WAS 54.3 DEGREES. THIS WAS 2.1 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL AVERAGE  
TEMPERATURE OF 56.4 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR MARCH WAS
4.01 INCHES. THIS WAS 2.60 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 1.41
INCHES. 

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 
MARCH WAS 55.9 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1.3 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 57.2 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR 
MARCH WAS 1.31 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.32 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY 
NORMAL OF 1.63 INCHES. 


...MARCH 2002 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

TWO SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER EPISODES OCCURRED IN MARCH...
AND AN ABRUPT CHANGE TO SHARPLY COLDER CONDITIONS OCCURRED ON THE
1ST AND 2ND.

TOWARD THE BEGINNING OF MARCH...ANOTHER DRAMATIC TEMPERATURE CHANGE
OCCURRED. THIS WAS QUITE SIMILAR TO AN EVENT FROM LATE FEBRUARY...
WHEN AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT ALSO SWEPT SOUTH ACROSS THE REGION. HIGH 
TEMPERATURES REACHED THE MID TO UPPER 70S ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS 
ON THE 1ST. AFTER THE ARCTIC FRONTAL PASSAGE ON THE EVENING OF THE
1ST...TEMPERATURES PLUMMETED INTO THE 20S BY THE NEXT MORNING (2ND).
BRISK NORTH WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH PRODUCED VERY COLD WIND CHILLS OF
ZERO TO TEN DEGREES OVER MUCH OF THE AREA. HIGH PRESSURE GRADUALLY 
SETTLED ACROSS THE REGION...BRINGING VERY COLD TEMPERATURES THE 
FOLLOWING TWO NIGHTS. ABILENE RECORDED ITS COLDEST TEMPERATURE OF 
THE SEASON ON THE 3RD...WITH A MORNING LOW OF 15 DEGREES. 

A DRY WEATHER PATTERN DOMINATED WEST CENTRAL TEXAS DURING THE FIRST 
HALF OF THE MONTH...WITH HUMIDITY REMAINING LOW. MOISTURE INCREASED
AS AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM ORGANIZED OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN 
STATES...AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON THE 18TH. 

A SEVERE WEATHER AND FLASH FLOODING EVENT OCCURRED ON THE 19TH. ON 
THAT DAY...NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED AS AN UPPER LEVEL 
STORM SYSTEM APPROACHED FROM THE WEST. A NUMBER OF STORMS 
PRODUCED SEVERE WEATHER AND FLASH FLOODING...AND THE CITY OF SAN 
ANGELO WAS PARTICULARLY HARD HIT. IN SAN ANGELO...A SEVERE STORM
BROUGHT A BRIEF TORNADO...LARGE HAIL AND FLASH FLOODING ON THE EARLY 
AFTERNOON OF THE 19TH. A TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN IN THE FAR 
SOUTHERN PART OF THE CITY...CAUSING SOME LOCALIZED DAMAGE. TWO OTHER 
TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN IN RURAL AREAS EAST AND NORTHEAST OF SAN ANGELO. 
NICKEL TO GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL FELL...WITH HAIL COVERING THE GROUND AT 
NUMEROUS LOCATIONS. A 55 MPH WIND GUST WAS RECORDED AT THE SAN ANGELO 
REGIONAL AIRPORT. VERY HEAVY RAIN (1 TO 2 INCHES) IN A SHORT PERIOD 
OF TIME CAUSED FLASH FLOODING...AND SOME MOTORISTS HAD TO BE RESCUED. 
FORTUNATELY NO INJURIES OR FATALITIES WERE REPORTED... DESPITE THE 
INTENSITY OF THE STORM.

SEVERAL OTHER SEVERE STORMS ON THE 19TH BROUGHT LARGE HAIL (DIME TO 
GOLFBALL SIZE) TO THE SOUTHERN HALF OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. FLASH 
FLOODING WAS REPORTED IN BRADY...WITH STREET FLOODING IN BROWNWOOD.   

TOTAL RAINFALL FROM THE 18TH AND 19TH WAS IN THE 1 TO 3 INCH RANGE 
ACROSS MOST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...BUT SCATTERED LOCATIONS EAST OF
A LINE FROM ABILENE TO SAN ANGELO TO OZONA RECEIVED 3 TO 4 INCHES.  

A SECOND SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE OCCURRED ON THE 29TH AND 30TH...
AS ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVED EAST INTO WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS. SEVERAL TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS WERE REPORTED OVER THE NORTHERN 
CONCHO VALLEY AND SOUTHERN BIG COUNTRY. THE TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN
IN RURAL AREAS. SOME DAMAGE WAS REPORTED...BUT FORTUNATELY NO 
INJURIES OR FATALITIES. QUARTER TO GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED 
AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...AND NEAR SAN SABA. IN 
ADDITION...A 68 MPH WIND GUST WAS REPORTED AT STAMFORD IN JONES 
COUNTY. THE HEAVIEST RAIN OCCURRED OVER THE BIG COUNTRY...WHERE THE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOST NUMEROUS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM 1 TO 2.5 
INCHES WERE COMMON. OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN SECTIONS OF WEST 
CENTRAL TEXAS...THE RAINFALL GENERALLY RANGED FROM 0.30 TO 1.00 INCH.