National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Powerful Storms to Impact the Western U.S. and Northern Plains

A strong, long-duration atmospheric river will bring excessive rainfall, flash flooding, and very strong winds to southwest Oregon and northwest California through Thursday. A High Risk (level 4 of 4) of Excessive Rainfall has been issued. A storm system over the northern Plains will produce locally heavy snow in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Read More >

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
900 PM CST TUE NOV 2 2004

...4TH WETTEST OCTOBER ON RECORD FOR ABILENE...

A RATHER WET WEATHER PATTERN PREVAILED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
DURING MUCH OF OCTOBER. RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH WAS WELL-ABOVE
NORMAL AT ABILENE AND SAN ANGELO. SAN ANGELO RECORDED ITS 13TH
WETTEST OCTOBER. 

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR OCTOBER 
WAS 66.9 DEGREES. THIS WAS 0.9 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE 
TEMPERATURE OF 66.0 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR ABILENE IN 
OCTOBER WAS 8.11 INCHES. THIS WAS 5.21 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY 
NORMAL OF 2.90 INCHES. THIS MARKS THE 4TH WETTEST OCTOBER ON
RECORD FOR ABILENE. 

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR OCTOBER 
WAS 67.8 DEGREES. THIS WAS 2.4 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE 
TEMPERATURE OF 65.4 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR SAN ANGELO IN 
OCTOBER WAS 5.16 INCHES. THIS WAS 2.59 INCHES ABOVE THE MONTHLY 
NORMAL OF 2.57 INCHES.


OCTOBER 2004 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

A COLD FRONT MOVED SOUTHWARD ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON
THE EVENING AND NIGHTTIME HOURS OF THE 1ST. NUMEROUS 
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN OCCURRED AHEAD 
OF AND BEHIND THIS FRONT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS DOWNED
TREE LIMBS AND BRANCHES IN BROWNWOOD...AND DAMAGED A SIGN
AND JACKNIFED A TRUCK IN BALLINGER. SCATTERED LOCATIONS 
RECEIVED ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL 
OF 2 TO 3.5 INCHES OCCURRED IN PARTS OF THE NORTHERN EDWARDS 
PLATEAU. 

A MOIST AIRMASS OVERSPREAD THE REGION AS A STORM SYSTEM 
DEVELOPED ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES EARLY IN THE MONTH. 
AS THIS SYSTEM SLOWLY PROGRESSED EASTWARD TOWARD TEXAS AND
INTERACTED WITH THIS MOISTURE...SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SHOWERS 
AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN OCCURRED IN WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS. ANOTHER AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED 
DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS OF THE 10TH IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL 
SECTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...AS ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL 
DISTURBANCE MOVED INTO THE REGION. A COUPLE OF SEVERE STORMS 
WITH THIS DISTURBANCE PRODUCED QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN 
MERTZON...AND WALNUT SIZE HAIL 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 
CHRISTOVAL.  

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN 
OCCURRED ON THE EVENING AND EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS OF THE 
14TH...AHEAD OF AND JUST BEHIND A STRONG COLD FRONT WHICH 
MOVED SOUTH ACROSS THE REGION. WINDS TO 60 MPH WERE 
REPORTED WITH A STORM IN MARYNEAL (NOLAN COUNTY)...AND 
ANOTHER STORM PRODUCED A 43 MPH WIND GUST AT THE SAN ANGELO 
REGIONAL AIRPORT. 

FOR THE FIRST HALF OF OCTOBER...RAINFALL TOTALS RANGING 
FROM 1.5 TO 4 INCHES WERE COMMON ACROSS MUCH OF WEST 
CENTRAL TEXAS.

A QUIETER WEATHER PERIOD OCCURRED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS FROM THE 15TH TO THE 21ST. A COOLER AND MUCH DRIER 
AIRMASS AIR MOVED SOUTHWARD INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 
15TH. VERY WARM AND MORE HUMID CONDITIONS DEVELOPED BY 
THE 21ST...WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 
90S APPROACHED RECORD MAXIMUMS. 

A MORE ACTIVE AND UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN OCCURRED ONCE 
AGAIN LATE IN THE MONTH. 

THE INCREASE IN MOISTURE SET THE STAGE FOR NUMEROUS SHOWERS 
AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ON THE 22ND...
AS A STORM SYSTEM MOVED INTO THE PLAINS FROM THE ROCKIES. 
RAINFALL OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF THE 
BIG COUNTRY...NORTHERN CONCHO VALLEY...AND SOUTHEASTERN 
SECTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...WHILE SCATTERED LOCATIONS 
RECEIVED 1 TO 2 INCH AMOUNTS. A COUPLE OF SEVERE STORMS 
AFFECTED THE NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY (KIMBLE COUNTY). ONE 
STORM PRODUCED WIND DAMAGE TO A ROOF IN ROOSEVELT. ANOTHER 
STORM WITH GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL DAMAGED VEHICLE WINDSHIELDS 5 
MILES WEST OF JUNCTION. 

ON THE 25TH AND 26TH...A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES 
MOVED INTO TEXAS FROM MEXICO IN SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT...
AND INTERACTED WITH PERSISTENT MOISTURE ACROSS THE REGION.
THIS RESULTED IN SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND STORMS WITH
HEAVY RAINFALL. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF AN INCH OR MORE WERE
COMMON EAST AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM HASKELL TO ROBERT LEE 
TO OZONA. SOME SECTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN BIG COUNTRY
(INCLUDING THE ABILENE AREA)...CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN 
EDWARDS PLATEAU RECEIVED 2 TO 4 INCH AMOUNTS...WHILE OVER 4 
INCHES OCCURRED IN WESTERN SUTTON COUNTY. THE HEAVY RAINFALL 
CAUSED FLASH FLOODING OF STREETS IN ABILENE...AND THIS
NECESSITATED NUMEROUS WATER RESCUES THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
FLOODING WAS ALSO REPORTED ALONG A FEW HIGHWAYS IN WESTERN 
SUTTON COUNTY.   

ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND STORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AFFECTED
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FROM THE 29TH THROUGH THE 31ST...AS 
ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVED NORTHEAST INTO THE
REGION.

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