MARCH 2011 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEST-CENTRAL TEXAS

...4TH WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD AT SAN ANGELO...

TEMPERATURES AVERAGED WELL-ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH.

PRECIPITATION WAS WELL-BELOW NORMAL ACROSS MOST OF WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS IN MARCH. MOST OF THE RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH
OCCURRED ON ONE DAY (18TH). THE MONTHLY AMOUNTS WERE LESS
THAN 10 PERCENT OF NORMAL ACROSS MUCH OF HASKELL AND
THROCKMORTON COUNTIES...AND ACROSS ROUGHLY THE SOUTHERN
HALF OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. THE MONTHLY TOTALS WERE NEAR
TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS POCKETS OF THE WESTERN AND
SOUTHERN BIG COUNTRY INTO THE NORTHERN CONCHO VALLEY. 

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
MARCH WAS 60.8 DEGREES. THIS WAS 4.4 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 56.4 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR
MARCH WAS 0.40 INCHES. THIS WAS 1.01 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY
NORMAL OF 1.41 INCHES.

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR
MARCH WAS 64.5 DEGREES. THIS WAS 7.3 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 57.2 DEGREES. THIS MARKS THE 4TH WARMEST
MARCH ON RECORD FOR SAN ANGELO. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR MARCH WAS
ONLY 0.10 INCHES. THIS WAS 0.89 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL
OF 0.99 INCHES.

MARCH 2011 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

MUCH OF THE MONTH WAS MARKED BY PERIODS OF WELL-ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES...INTERSPERSED WITH DRY COLD FRONTAL PASSAGES.
SAN ANGELO RECORDED 4 DAYS DURING THE MONTH WITH HIGHS AT OR
ABOVE 90 DEGREES. JUNCTION RECORDED 2 DAYS AND ABILENE 1 DAY
WHERE THE HIGH REACHED OR EXCEEDED 90 DEGREES. RECORD WARM
MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WERE SET AT SAN ANGELO ON THE 17TH AND
21ST...AND TIED ON THE 4TH. AT ABILENE...A RECORD WARM MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE WAS TIED ON THE 17TH. 

WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS OCCURRED ON THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF THE MONTH.
TEMPERATURES WERE VERY WARM ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 3RD...WHEN HIGHS
HIGHS REACHED THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S AT NUMEROUS LOCATIONS. A
RECORD HIGH OF 91 DEGREES WAS TIED AT SAN ANGELO. FOLLOWING A COLD
FRONTAL PASSAGE ON THE 4TH...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
OCCURRED DURING THE POST-MIDNIGHT HOURS OF THE 4TH...IN ASSOCIATION
WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE ENTERING THE AREA. WHERE THE SHOWERS
AND STORMS OCCURRED...RAINFALL AMOUNTS WERE MOSTLY LESS THAN ONE
TENTH OF AN INCH. A FEW LOCATIONS RECEIVED BETWEEN ONE TENTH AND ONE
QUARTER OF AN INCH.

A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM SETTLED INTO THE AREA ON THE 5TH AND BROUGHT
MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES. HIGHS WERE IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S.
CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO DIP MOSTLY
INTO THE 20S FOR LOWS ON THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 6TH. SEVERAL
LOCATIONS (EDEN...FORT MCKAVITT...MENARD...AND 4 MILES SOUTH-
SOUTHWEST OF JUNCTION)...HOWEVER...RECORDED LOWS IN THE TEENS.   

WINDY...WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS OCCURRED ON THE 8TH...FOLLOWING
PASSAGE OF A DRYLINE. ABILENE RECORDED A PEAK WIND GUST OF 41 MPH
FROM THE WEST. ON THE 11TH...PEAK SOUTH WIND GUSTS REACHED 41 MPH AT
ABILENE AND SAN ANGELO.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN BIG COUNTRY...
NORTHERN CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN HEARTLAND ON THE EVENING AND
EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS OF THE 18TH...AS A COLD FRONT MOVED SOUTH INTO
THE AREA. A FEW SEVERE STORMS PRODUCED QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN THE
VICINITY OF WINTERS (RUNNELS COUNTY)...AND 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
BLACKWELL (COKE COUNTY). SCATTERED LOCATIONS RECEIVED 1 TO 2 INCHES
OF RAINFALL...WHILE THE REST OF THE AREA RECEIVED LESS THAN ONE
INCH.

A COUPLE OF STRONGER COLD FRONTAL PASSAGES OCCURRED LATE IN THE
MONTH.

DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WERE VERY ON THE 25TH...AND A NEW RECORD HIGH
OF 93 DEGREES WAS SET AT SAN ANGELO. 

EXTENSIVE CLOUDINESS FOLLOWED A 26TH COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE...AND
TEMPERATURES WERE MUCH COOLER ON THE 27TH. THIS WAS MOST NOTICEABLE
ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY WHERE HIGHS WERE IN THE 50S.

MUCH COOLER AIR FOLLOWED A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE ON THE 29TH.
TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY WERE HELD TO THE MID TO UPPER
40S WITH CLOUDY SKIES AND PATCHY DRIZZLE THROUGH THE DAY. FARTHER
SOUTH ACROSS THE CONCHO VALLEY AND HEARTLAND...CLOUDY SKIES BEHIND
THE FRONT HELD TEMPERATURES TO NEAR 60 DEGREES FOR AFTERNOON
HIGHS. PARTIAL CLEARING DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS OF THE 29TH AND
30TH ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO DIP MOSTLY INTO THE 30S FOR LOWS ON
THE 30TH. SEVERAL LOCATIONS EXPERIENCED A LIGHT FREEZE...AND A FEW
LOCATIONS RECORDED LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S.

$$