PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
930 PM CDT MON APR 13 2009

..TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL IN MARCH...

PRECIPITATION FOR MARCH VARIED FROM BELOW NORMAL ACROSS MUCH
OF THE BIG COUNTRY TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS MUCH OF
SOUTHEASTERN SECTIONS...AND PARTS OF SOUTHWESTERN SECTIONS...
OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. AREAS OF THE HEARTLAND AND NORTHWESTERN
HILL COUNTRY RECEIVED 3 TO 5 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FOR THE
MONTH. THE LOWEST MONTHLY AMOUNTS...LESS THAN ONE HALF INCH...
OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF THROCKMORTON AND PARTS OF HASKELL
COUNTIES.

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
MARCH WAS 59.6 DEGREES. THIS WAS 3.2 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 56.4 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR
MARCH WAS 1.42 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.01 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY
NORMAL OF 1.41 INCHES. 

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
MARCH WAS 61.4 DEGREES. THIS WAS 4.2 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 57.2 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR
MARCH WAS 1.73 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.74 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY
NORMAL OF 0.99 INCHES. 


...MARCH 2009 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

WITH THE INFLUENCE OF A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM ALOFT OVER THE
REGION...TEMPERATURES WERE WELL ABOVE NORMAL ON THE 4TH...5TH...
AND 6TH. NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES ON THE 5TH WERE IN THE
UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S...AND A RECORD HIGH OF 92 DEGREES WAS SET
IN SAN ANGELO.

WITH A SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND APPROACH OF A DRYLINE...
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON THE EVENING OF
THE 9TH...ACROSS THE AREA NORTH OF A LINE FROM BAIRD TO ABILENE
TO STERLING CITY. SOME OF THE STORMS CONTAINED LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN.
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE HALF TO 1.5 INCHES OCCURRED ACROSS PARTS
OF THE BIG COUNTRY AND FAR NORTHERN STERLING COUNTY. 

FOLLOWING A STRONG COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE DURING THE 10TH AND
11TH...A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO A WETTER AND COLDER WEATHER
PATTERN OCCURRED ON THE DAYS WHICH FOLLOWED. MUCH COLDER AIR
INVADED WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...AND A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCES MOVED NORTHEAST INTO TEXAS. WITH THIS SETUP...
SEVERAL PERIODS OF RAIN OVERSPREAD THE REGION ON THE 11TH AND
INTO THE 12TH. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
OCCURRED ON THE 13TH. WIDELY SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS
OCCURRED ACROSS SOUTHERN AND SOUTHEASTERN SECTIONS ON THE
14TH AND 15TH. THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM LIFTED OUT TO THE
NORTHEAST ACROSS TEXAS ON THE 15TH. FROM THE 11TH TO THE 15TH...
THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL OF 2 TO 4 INCHES OCCURRED ACROSS THE
HEARTLAND AND NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY...AND IN SCATTERED
POCKETS ACROSS THE NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU. AMOUNTS RANGING
FROM ONE HALF TO 1.5 INCHES OCCURRED MUCH OF THE BIG COUNTRY
AND CONCHO VALLEY. THE NORTHERN BIG COUNTRY RECEIVED GENERALLY
LESS THAN ONE HALF INCH OF RAIN.  

THIS WAS THE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF A MORE WIDESPREAD RAIN EVENT
IN WEST CENTRAL TEXAS (WITH MORE THAN ONE INCH OF RAIN) SINCE
MID-OCTOBER OF 2008.

WITH THE WIDESPREAD CLOUD COVER...A MUCH COLDER AIRMASS...AND
THE RAIN...DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WERE ONLY IN THE MID TO UPPER
30S ACROSS MOST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 11TH. TEMPERATURES
REMAINED IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S ON THE 12TH.

A DRY WEATHER PATTERN OCCURRED DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH.
LATE IN THE MONTH...GUSTY SOUTH WINDS OCCURRED ON THE 23RD...
AS A STORM SYSTEM LIFTED INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS FROM THE
ROCKIES. PEAK WIND GUSTS REACHED 46 MPH AT ABILENE AND 45 MPH
AT SAN ANGELO.

AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVED INTO THE REGION FROM THE
WEST...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ACROSS THE AREA
SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20...AND EAST OF A LINE FROM SWEETWATER TO
MERTZON TO SONORA. SEVERAL SEVERE STORMS PRODUCED LARGE HAIL.
THE LARGEST HAIL SIZE REPORTED WAS GOLFBALL TO BASEBALL SIZE
AT LOYAL VALLEY (MASON COUNTY). GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS ALSO
REPORTED 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MASON...AND 1 MILE SOUTH OF
LONDON (KIMBLE COUNTY). QUARTER SIZE HAIL OCCURRED 1 MILE EAST
OF MASON...AND 11 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF ROOSEVELT (SUTTON
COUNTY). THE OTHER SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS INCLUDED PENNY TO
NICKEL SIZE HAIL. AT ABILENE...A PEAK WIND GUST OF 44 MPH
OCCURRED. SCATTERED LOCATIONS RECEIVED RAINFALL BETWEEN ONE
HALF AND 1.5 INCHES. FOR MUCH OF THE AREA WHICH RECEIVED
RAINFALL...THE AMOUNTS VARIED UNDER ONE HALF INCH.

AS A POTENT UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVED FROM THE
SOUTHERN ROCKIES INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS...A COLD FRONT
DROPPED SOUTH ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE MORNING OF THE
27TH. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS FOLLOWED PASSAGE OF THE COLD
FRONT...AND CONTINUED ON THE 28TH. AT SAN ANGELO...PEAK WIND
GUSTS REACHED 45 MPH ON THE 27TH AND 44 MPH ON THE 28TH. AT
ABILENE...PEAK WIND GUSTS REACHED 43 MPH ON THE 27TH AND 28TH.

GUSTY SOUTH WINDS OCCURRED ON THE 29TH AND 30TH. PEAK PEAK
WIND GUSTS REACHED 41 MPH AT ABILENE ON THE 29TH...AND 40 MPH
AT SAN ANGELO ON THE 30TH.

$$