MARCH 2010 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEST-CENTRAL TEXAS

...TEMPERATURES AVERAGED BELOW NORMAL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
IN MARCH...

PRECIPITATION VARIED FROM BELOW TO ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS THE
REGION. LESS THAN 25 PERCENT OF NORMAL PRECIPITATION OCCURRED
ACROSS MUCH OF CROCKETT COUNTY. THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS
BELOW NORMAL (LESS THAN ONE INCH) ACROSS MUCH OF THE NORTHERN
AND WESTERN BIG COUNTRY...AND PARTS OF THE CONCHO VALLEY...
HEARTLAND...NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY AND THE NORTHERN EDWARDS
PLATEAU. THE DRIEST LOCATIONS...IN PARTS OF CROCKETT COUNTY...
RECEIVED LESS THAN ONE TENTH OF AN INCH. MARCH PRECIPITATION
WAS ABOVE NORMAL IN POCKETS BETWEEN ABILENE AND BROWNWOOD...
IN AN EAST TO WEST BAND FROM NORTHERN MCCULLOCH COUNTY TO
SOUTHERN IRION COUNTY...AND ACROSS OTHER SCATTERED POCKETS IN
THE SOUTHERN PART OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. FOR A FEW LOCATIONS
MAINLY BETWEEN ABILENE AND BROWNWOOD...THE MONTHLY AMOUNTS
WERE GREATER THAN 3 INCHES.

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
MARCH WAS 54.6 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1.8 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 56.4 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR
MARCH WAS 1.76 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.35 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY
NORMAL OF 1.41 INCHES.

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
MARCH WAS 56.4 DEGREES. THIS WAS 0.8 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 57.2 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR
MARCH WAS 1.17 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.18 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY
NORMAL OF 0.99 INCHES.

MARCH 2010 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

THE WEATHER PATTERN WAS ACTIVE IN MARCH...AND A NUMBER OF
STORM SYSTEMS AFFECTED THE REGION DURING THE MONTH. 

A MIX OF LIGHT RAIN AND LIGHT SNOW OCCURRED ACROSS THE BIG
COUNTRY...WITH SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS FARTHER SOUTH...
ON THE 1ST AS AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVED ACROSS WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS. GUSTY NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS OCCURRED...AND A
PEAK WIND GUST OF 40 MPH WAS RECORDED AT SAN ANGELO.

AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM LIFTED FROM THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES
TO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS ON THE 8TH...BUT A FEW WEAK DISTURBANCES
OUT AHEAD OF IT MOVED INTO THE REGION ON THE 7TH. MOST OF THE
PRECIPITATION WITH THIS SYSTEM AFFECTED WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON
THE 8TH. WITH SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...RAINFALL
AMOUNTS OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OCCURRED IN PARTS OF BROWN AND
SAN SABA COUNTIES. SCATTERED LOCATIONS ACROSS THE REST OF WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS RECEIVED A QUARTER TO HALF INCH OF RAINFALL. GUSTY
WEST WINDS FOLLOWED PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT. PEAK WIND GUSTS
REACHED 48 MPH AT SAN ANGELO AND 46 MPH AT ABILENE.

STRONG GUSTY SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS OCCURRED ON THE 10TH...
AS A SMALL BUT POTENT UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVED INTO THE
SOUTHERN PLAINS FROM NEW MEXICO. PEAK WIND GUSTS INCLUDED 48 MPH
AT ABILENE AND SAN ANGELO. A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
OCCURRED ACROSS THE EASTERN BIG COUNTRY ON THE EARLY MORNING OF
THE 10TH. ANOTHER STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVED ACROSS
TEXAS ON THE 11TH...AND PEAK WINDS REACHED 47 MPH AT SAN ANGELO
AND 43 MPH AT JUNCTION.

WITH THE APPROACH AND ARRIVAL OF ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL STORM
SYSTEM FROM THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES...WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND
A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON THE AFTERNOON AND NIGHTTIME
HOURS OF THE 15TH. A FEW LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS LINGERED INTO THE
16TH. RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGED FROM ONE QUARTER TO THREE QUARTERS
OF AN INCH ACROSS MOST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...AND SCATTERED
LOCATIONS RECEIVED BETWEEN THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH AND 1.5
INCHES.

THE APPROACH OF AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM FROM THE WEST
BROUGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON EVENING AND OVERNIGHT
HOURS OF THE 19TH AND 20TH. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL OF 1.5 TO
3 INCHES OCCURRED IN SCATTERE POCKETS BETWEEN ABILENE AND
BROWNWOOD. MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS EAST OF HIGHWAY 277
RECEIVED AMOUNTS RANGING FROM ONE QUARTER TO THREE QUARTERS
OF AN INCH. A PEAK WIND GUST OF 44 MPH OCCURRED AT JUNCTION.
AS COLDER AIR POURED INTO THE REGION ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE
SYSTEM...THE RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY
AND INTO THE CONCHO VALLEY...WITH SNOW FLURRIES OBSERVED AS FAR
SOUTH AS JUNCTION. WITH A WARM GROUND AND TEMPERATURES ABOVE
FREEZING HOWEVER...NO SNOWFALL ACCUMULATION WAS REPORTED. GUSTY
NORTH WINDS ALSO ACCOMPANIED THE COLDER AIR ON THE 20TH...AND A
PEAK WIND OF 45 MPH OCCURRED AT ABILENE. GUSTY NORTH WINDS
CONTINUED ON THE 21ST AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVED SOUTHEAST TOWARD
TEXAS. ABILENE RECORDED A PEAK WIND OF 40 MPH.

AS THE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WITH COLD AIR SETTLED OVER THE
REGION...CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO
DROP INTO THE 20S FOR LOWS ACROSS NEARLY ALL OF WEST CENTRAL
TEXAS ON THE 22ND. A QUICK WARMUP FOLLOWED AS SOUTH WINDS
DEVELOPED AND INCREASED ON THE 23RD. HIGHS REACHED THE 80 TO
85 DEGREE RANGE ON THE 23RD.

LATE IN THE MONTH...ANOTHER STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM
MOVED EAST INTO TEXAS ON THE 24TH. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING OF THE
24TH...AHEAD OF A DRYLINE AND COLD FRONT. A FEW OF THE STORMS
WERE STRONG. NICKEL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED AT GOULDBUSK (COLEMAN
COUNTY) AND A 43 MPH WIND GUST WAS RECORDED AT JUNCTION.
SCATTERED LOCATIONS RECEIVED ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OF RAINFALL.
OTHERWISE THE AMOUNTS VARIED UNDER ONE HALF INCH WHERE THE
SHOWERS AND STORMS OCCURRED.

SCATTERED LOCATIONS ACROSS SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
TEXAS RECORDED LOW TEMPERATURES NEAR FREEZING ON THE EARLY
MORNING OF THE 26TH. LATER THAT DAY...GUSTY SOUTH WINDS
DEVELOPED AS ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM APPROACHED THE REGION FROM
NEW MEXICO. PEAK WIND GUSTS OF 40 MPH WERE RECORDED AT ABILENE
AND SAN ANGELO.

THE UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVED EAST ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
PLAINS ON THE 27TH...AND BROUGHT GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS
TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...ALONG WITH AN INTRUSION OF DRY AIR. A
PEAK WIND GUST OF 40 MPH OCCURRED AT ABILENE.

THE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WHICH FOLLOWED THIS STORM SYSTEM
OVER WEST CENTRAL TEXAS LATE ON THE 28TH. A LIGHT FREEZE
OCCURRED AT A NUMBER OF LOCATIONS ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN PART OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE EARLY MORNING OF
THE 29TH...WHERE CLEAR SKIES WERE COMBINED WITH LIGHT WINDS.
A PERIOD OF WARM AND DRY WEATHER OCCURRED AT THE END OF THE
MONTH. HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 80S ON THE 30TH...AND
REACHED INTO THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S ON THE 31ST.

$$