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...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 
730 PM EDT MON SEP 17 2001

...SEPTEMBER BROUGHT COOLER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND A WIDE 
RANGE IN PRECIPITATION TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR SEPTEMBER
WAS 74.4 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1.6 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL AVERAGE OF
76.0 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION WAS 2.32 INCH. THIS WAS 0.89  
INCH BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 3.21 INCHES. 

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 
SEPTEMBER WAS ALSO 74.4 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1.0 DEGREES BELOW THE 
NORMAL AVERAGE OF 75.4 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION WAS 0.89 INCH.
THIS WAS 2.52 INCHES BELOW THE MONTHLY NORMAL OF 3.41 INCHES.    

HIGH TEMPERATURES STAYED BELOW 100 DEGREES FOR ALL OF SEPTEMBER
AT ABILENE...SAN ANGELO...AND JUNCTION. NO RECORD HIGH OR LOW
TEMPERATURES WERE SET. 


...SEPTEMBER 2001 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS...

WITH A MORE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS 
OCCURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS DURING SEPTEMBER ACROSS WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS. DUE TO THE SCATTERED NATURE OF THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL 
HOWEVER...THE TOTAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH VARIED WIDELY ACROSS THE
REGION. SOME LOCATIONS...INCLUDING THE SAN ANGELO REGIONAL 
AIRPORT...WERE WELL BELOW NORMAL. OTHER NEARBY LOCATIONS RECEIVED 
SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN DURING THE MONTH. SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRED ON
SEVERAL DAYS.
 
A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE BROUGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO
MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FROM THE AFTERNOON INTO THE NIGHTTIME 
HOURS OF THE 3RD. HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS ACCOMPANIED THE STRONGEST
STORMS OVER THE BIG COUNTRY. A WIND GUST TO 60 MPH WAS REPORTED 
8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ABILENE...WHILE A 49 MPH GUST WAS RECORDED AT
THE ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT. HEAVY RAIN ACCOMPANIED MANY OF THE 
STORMS...AND SCATTERED LOCATIONS RECEIVED AMOUNTS RANGING FROM 1.5
TO 3.5 INCHES. 

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS CONTINUED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
ON THE 4TH AND 5TH...AS A WEAK UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM 
LINGERED OVER THE REGION. THE HEAVIEST RAIN (1 TO 3 INCHES) FELL
WEST OF AN ABILENE TO SAN ANGELO LINE ON THE 4TH. NUMEROUS LOCATIONS
THROUGHOUT WEST CENTRAL TEXAS RECEIVED OVER ONE HALF INCH OF RAIN. 

SEVERE STORMS OCCURRED OVER PARTS OF THE EASTERN BIG COUNTRY AND 
HEARTLAND ON THE EVENING OF THE 8TH...AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVED
SOUTH INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. TORNADO SIGHTINGS WERE REPORTED IN 
CALLAHAN COUNTY WEST OF CROSS PLAINS...5 MILES NORTHWEST OF 
COTTONWOOD AND IN THE TOWN OF ROWDEN. A TORNADO WAS ALSO SIGHTED IN 
BURKETT IN COLEMAN COUNTY. BASEBALL SIZE HAIL FELL AT ROWDEN...WITH
DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED AT BURKETT...LAKE BROWNWOOD...AND MAY. 
AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...TEMPERATURES ON THE 9TH WERE 15 TO 20 
DEGREES COOLER.

SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALSO OCCURRED OVER CENTRAL
AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE EVENING
AND EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS OF THE 18TH...AS A COLD FRONT MOVED 
THROUGH THE REGION. SEVERE STORMS PRODUCED GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL IN 
TUSCOLA AND 2 MILES EAST OF BLACKWELL. DIME SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED
AT MILES AND ZEPHYR. IN ADDITION...WIND DAMAGE WAS REPORTED FROM A 
60 MPH WIND GUST IN LOWAKE. THE STORMS ALSO WERE ACCOMPANIED BY 
HEAVY RAIN...WITH SCATTERED LOCATIONS RECEIVING 1 TO 3 INCHES.
 
NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED FROM THE EVENING OF THE 20TH INTO
THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 21ST....AS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES MOVED
THROUGH THE REGION. THE STORMS WERE PREVALENT OVER ALL EXCEPT THE 
WESTERN CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU. SEVERAL STORMS 
WERE SEVERE OVER THE BIG COUNTRY ON THE EVENING OF THE 20TH.
A 73 MPH WIND GUST WAS REPORTED JUST NORTH OF ABILENE. WIND GUSTS OF
60 TO 70 MPH WERE REPORTED AT ROBY...AND WIND DAMAGED POWER LINES IN
ANSON. THE HEAVIEST RAIN FELL OVER THE BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN 
HEARTLAND...WHERE 1 TO 3 INCH AMOUNTS WERE COMMON. A FEW LOCATIONS 
OVER NORTHERN...EASTERN...AND SOUTHEASTERN SECTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
TEXAS RECEIVED 3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN.  

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN OCCURRED 
THROUGHOUT WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE 22ND...AS AN UPPER LEVEL 
DISTURBANCE MOVED INTO THE REGION. MANY LOCATIONS RECEIVED OVER AN
INCH OF RAIN. SCATTERED LOCATIONS RECEIVED 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL BETWEEN 
BAIRD AND CLYDE IN CALLAHAN COUNTY.
  
A STRONG COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE ON THE 23RD BROUGHT A SIGNIFICANTLY
COOLER AND DRIER AIRMASS INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...WHICH LINGERED
FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE BEGINNING TO MODERATE. LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE 
40S WERE RECORDED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE LATE APRIL. 

THE MONTH ENDED WITH SEVERAL DAYS OF CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES...
LOW HUMIDITIES...AND PLEASANT TEMPERATURES.