MAY 2011 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEST-CENTRAL TEXAS

...9TH WARMEST MAY ON RECORD TIED AT SAN ANGELO...

PRECIPTATION FOR MAY RANGED FROM NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL
IN POCKETS OF EASTERN PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE
NORTHWESTERN PART OF CROCKETT COUNTY...TO WELL BELOW NORMAL
ACROSS THE REST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. A NUMBER OF LOCATIONS
ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...WESTERN CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN
EDWARDS PLATEAU RECEIVED LESS THAN 25 PERCENT OF NORMAL
PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH.

TEMPERATURES AVERAGED WELL ABOVE NORMAL IN MAY.

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR MAY WAS
75.3 DEGREES. THIS WAS 2.5 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE OF 72.8 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR MAY WAS 1.11
INCHES. THIS WAS 1.72 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 2.83
INCHES. ABILENE RECORDED 5 DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 100
DEGREES OR GREATER.

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR MAY
WAS 77.1 DEGREES. THIS WAS 4.0 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE OF 73.1 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR MAY WAS 1.36
INCHES. THIS WAS 1.73 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 3.09
INCHES. SAN ANGELO RECORDED 7 DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 100
DEGREES OR GREATER.

JUNCTION RECORDED 6 DAYS IN MAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 100
DEGREES OR GREATER

MAY 2011 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

A SHARP CHANGE TO MUCH COOLER CONDITIONS...ALONG WITH A PERIOD
OF WET WEATHER...OCCURRED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH.

A STRONG COLD FRONT PUSHED SOUTH ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON
THE MORNING OF THE 1ST. GUSTY NORTH WINDS AND MUCH COOLER AIR
FOLLOWED THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. TEMPERATURES DROPPED INTO THE
UPPER 40S ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY..AND INTO THE 50S ACROSS CENTRAL
AND SOUTHERN PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. THESE TEMPERATURES
CONTINUED THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THIS MARKED A SHARP
CHANGE FROM THE PREVIOUS DAY (APRIL 30TH) WHEN AFTERNOON HIGHS
WERE IN THE 80S AND 90S.     

IN ADDITION...SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS NEAR AND
BEHIND THE FRONT ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND
7 AM ON THE 1ST. GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED IN HASKELL AND
THROCKMORTON. WIDESPREAD SIGNIFICANT WIND DAMAGE OCCURRED IN   
CALLAHAN COUNTY AND THE TOWN OF CLYDE. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS
UPROOTED TREES...DAMAGED ROOFS...AND OVERTURNED MANUFACTURED
HOMES. OTHER WIND DAMAGE WAS ALSO REPORTED IN CLYDE. WINDS WERE
ESTIMATED TO BE IN THE RANGE OF 90-100 MPH. 

WITH THE APPROACH OF A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE FROM NEW
MEXICO...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ACROSS
MOST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. SOME OF THE STORMS ACROSS THE
CONCHO VALLEY CONTAINED SMALL HAIL. PENNY TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL
WAS THE LARGEST HAIL REPORTED FROM THE STORMS...IN BROWN COUNTY
1 MILE SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF BROWNWOOD. THE COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND
STORMS WAS MORE WIDESPREAD THAN WITH PREVIOUS SYSTEMS. THE
HEAVIER RAINFALL OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OCCURRED FROM THE CONCHO
VALLEY EAST ACROSS THE HEARTLAND...EXTENDING NORTH INTO PARTS OF
THE EASTERN BIG COUNTRY...AND EXTENDING SOUTH INTO PARTS OF THE
NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY. FOR OTHER AREAS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
THE AMOUNTS VARIED UNDER ONE HALF INCH.

THE SHOWERS AND STORMS ENDED WITH GRADUALLY CLEARING SKIES ON
THE 2ND...BUT TEMPERATURES REMAINED COOL WITH HIGHS MOSTLY IN
THE LOWER TO MID 60S ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. AS HIGH PRESSURE
SETTLED INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS WITH CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT
WINDS...TEMPERATURES DROPPED INTO THE 30S FOR LOWS ON THE EARLY
MORNING OF THE 3RD. RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES WERE SET AT ABILENE
AND TIED AT SAN ANGELO ON THE 3RD. A LIGHT FREEZE WAS EVEN
NOTED AT A FEW LOCATIONS (DYESS AIR FORCE BASE...FORT GRIFFIN
AND FORT MCKAVETT)...WHERE LOWS WERE BETWEEN 30 AND 32 DEGREES. 

DRY CONDITIONS WITH PLEASANT TEMPERATURES OCCURRED ON THE 3RD
TO THE 5TH...FOLLOWED BY A STRONG WARMING TREND. TEMPERATURES ON
THE 7TH SOARED INTO THE 95-103 DEGREE RANGE FOR AFTERNOON
HIGHS. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 103 DEGREES WAS TIED AT SAN
ANGELO ON THE 7TH. THE HOT TEMPERATURES CONTINUED THROUGH THE
9TH. AFTERNOON HIGHS ACROSS NEARLY ALL OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON
THE 85H WERE IN THE 100-105 DEGREE RANGE...AND A RECORD HIGH
TEMPERATURE WAS TIED AT SAN ANGELO. THE HOT CONDITIONS ON THE
8TH WERE ACCOMPANIED BY GUSTY SOUTH-SOUTHWEST WINDS...AND A 43
MPH GUST WAS RECORDED AT THE ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT.     

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON THE 10TH.
MOST OF THE COVERAGE WAS ACROSS SOUTHERN AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WERE MOSTLY LESS THAN ONE
HALF INCH...EXCEPT FOR A SMALL PART OF NORTHEASTERN CONCHO
COUNTY...WHERE AMOUNTS WERE BETWEEN ONE HALF AND ONE INCH.
A PEAK WIND GUST OF 44 MPH WAS RECORDED AT SAN ANGELO.

SEVERE STORMS OCCURRED ON THE 11TH ACROSS EASTERN AND
SOUTHEASTERN PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. WITH THE APPROACH OF
A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND DRYLINE INTO AN UNSTABLE
AIRMASS...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED IN THE MORNING
AND BECAME MORE NUMEROUS. THE COVERAGE WAS MORE WIDESPREAD EAST
OF A LINE FROM OZONA TO SAN ANGELO TO BAIRD.

SEVERAL OF THE STORMS WERE SEVERE. QUARTER TO PING PONG BALL
SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED IN THE BALLINGER AREA. QUARTER SIZE HAIL
WAS ALSO REPORTED 1 MILE NORTH OF COLEMAN...AND IN ZEPHYR.
SEVERE STORMS IN MASON...AND 11 MILES SOUTH OF MASON...PRODUCED
GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL. SEVERE STORM WINDS...7 MILES NORTHWEST OF SAN
SABA...DOWNED A FEW TREE LIMBS AND DAMAGED THE ROOF A BARN. 

THE STORMS WERE ALSO ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE HEAVIER
RAINFALL AMOUNTS...BETWEEN 2 AND 4 INCHES...OCCURRED ACROSS
PARTS OF THE EASTERN CONCHO VALLEY...HEARTLAND AND NORTHWEST
HILL COUNTRY. MANY LOCATIONS ACROSS EAST-CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEASTERN PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS RECEIVED BETWEEN ONE
HALF AND 2 INCHES. THIS RAINFALL BROUGHT SOME SHORT-TERM RELIEF
TO THE SEVERE TO EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA.   

AFTER A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 10 AM ON THE                                                                                                                                                                                    13TH...A DRY AND COOLER AIRMASS SETTLED OVER WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS. HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDED  FROM THE GREAT PLAINS
SOUTH INTO TEXAS...AND BROUGHT PLEASANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ON
THE 14TH AND 15TH. AFTERNOON HIGHS RANGED FROM THE MID 70S
TO LOWER 80S ON THE 14TH. CLOUD COVER ON THE 15 LIMITED HIGHS
TO THE UPPER 60S ACROSS AREAS OF THE BIG COUNTRY...WHILE
FARTHER SOUTH THE HIGHS RANGED FROM THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S.
OVERNIGHT LOWS WERE MOSTLY IN THE UPPER 40S TO LOWER 50S.

WITH THE APPROACH AND ARRIVAL OF A DRYLINE AND WEAK COLD
FRONT...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 20TH. AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING DRYLINE...
A SEVERE STORM PRODUCED QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN HASKELL COUNTY
2 MILES NORTHWEST OF RULE...ON THE EVENING OF THE 19TH. SOME
LOCATIONS RECEIVED BETWEEN ONE HALF AND ONE INCH OF RAINFALL
FROM ON THE 20TH.

A SEVERE WEATHER EVENT OCCURRED ON THE EVENING OF THE 22ND...
WITH THE APPROACH OF AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE INTO A VERY
UNSTABLE AIRMASS. A NUMBER OF SEVERE STORMS WITH LARGE HAIL
AFFECTED THE BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN HEARTLAND. THE LARGEST
HAIL OF BASEBALL TO SOFTBALL SIZE WAS REPORTED IN MAY (BROWN
COUNTY). HEN EGG TO TEA CUP SIZE HAIL ALSO OCCURRED IN
BROWN COUNTY...AND BASEBALL SIZE HAIL WAS ALSO REPORTED IN
ALBANY (SHACKELFORD COUNTY. GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL CRACKED WINDOWS
AT A RESIDENCE 2 MILES NORTHEAST OF ECHO (COLEMAN COUNTY). IN
ADDITION...GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED IN LEUDERS (JONES
COUNTY) AND IN BAIRD (CALLAHAN COUNTY).

ON THE 24TH...QUARTER SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED FROM A SEVERE
STORM IN SAN SABA.

RECORD HEAT OCCURRED OVER THE MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND
LATE IN THE MONTH. HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE MOSTLY BETWEEN
102 AND 110 DEGREES ON THE 27TH AND 28TH. AT SAN ANGELO...
THE HIGH OF 110 DEGREES ON THE 28 SET A NEW RECORD HIGH
NOT ONLY FOR THE DAY...BUT FOR THE MONTH OF MAY. THIS
BROKE THE PREVIOUS MONTHLY RECORD HIGH OF 109 DEGREES FOR
MAY. THE HIGH OF 110 WAS JUST ONE DEGREE BELOW THE ALL-TIME
RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR SAN ANGELO. AT ABILENE...THE
HIGH OF 109 DEGREES ON THE 28TH TIED THE RECORD HIGH FOR
THE MONTH OF MAY...IN ADDITION TO SETTING A NEW RECORD HIGH
FOR THE DAY.

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