Volume
24 Number 3 MARCH 2011
March 2011 was warmer than normal across the entire state of
Texas and much drier than normal across the vast majority of the state. A large
area of West Texas received no measurable precipitation during the entire month
of March, and much of West Texas has received less than an inch of
precipitation over the past 6 months. Drought conditions worsened during March
and left no part of Texas unaffected. The March 29th US Drought Monitor
designated 100% of the state as at least abnormally dry and 43.07% of the state
as being in an extreme drought (D3). Other than West Texas, the other primary
region of D3 conditions was in East Texas, where precipitation deficits over
the past 6 months have been anywhere from 10-15". During March only
counties to the south and east of Houston picked up appreciable precipitation,
including Galveston (2.70") and Beaumont/Port Arthur (2.04"), the
latter of which
The other major weather story in Texas during March 2011 was
a rebounding of temperatures from an extremely cold February. Every first-order
station in the state reported mean monthly average, maximum, and minimum
temperatures above normal, a rare feat even in the warmest of Texas months. The
mean monthly maximum temperature in San Angelo was an astounding 9.9°F above
normal, including four days above 90°F and 20 days above 80°F. San Angelo also
recorded the lowest minimum temperature of any first-order station in the state
with a low temperature of 23°F on the 6th. Laredo recorded the warmest maximum
temperature across the entire United States for six consecutive days from the
22nd-27th, including highs of 99°F on the 26th and 27th.
The extreme dryness during the past several months and an
abundance of vegetation that grew during a wet winter and early spring of 2010
combined to create an active 2011 wildfire season. As of the 28th, more than
520,000 acres of Texas land has been burned by wildfires according to the Texas
Forest Service. Most of the counties in the state implemented or extended bans
on outdoor burning during March.
MARCH 2010
|
|
TMAX |
TMIN |
Mean Temp |
Precipitation |
|
|||||||||
|
Station |
Avg. |
Dep. |
Abs. Max |
Avg. |
Dep. |
Abs. Min |
Avg. |
Dep. |
No. Days |
Total (In.) |
Percent Avg. |
Gr'st 24 hr.
(In.) |
HDD* |
CDD* |
|
Abilene |
75.2 |
6.1 |
90 |
46.4 |
2.6 |
28 |
60.8 |
4.4 |
4 |
0.41 |
29% |
0.28 |
186 |
63 |
|
Amarillo |
66.8 |
4.6 |
89 |
35.2 |
1.6 |
26 |
51.0 |
3.1 |
3 |
0.06 |
5% |
0.03 |
433 |
9 |
|
Austin |
78.4 |
5.9 |
90 |
54.8 |
3.9 |
36 |
66.6 |
4.9 |
4 |
0.09 |
4% |
0.05 |
81 |
140 |
|
Brownsville |
81.8 |
3.8 |
87 |
64.3 |
4.8 |
47 |
73.0 |
4.2 |
1 |
0.07 |
8% |
0.07 |
11 |
267 |
|
College Station |
77.6 |
5.0 |
89 |
54.5 |
4.0 |
34 |
66.0 |
4.4 |
4 |
0.69 |
24% |
0.38 |
90 |
129 |
|
Corpus Christi |
77.7 |
1.9 |
84 |
59.7 |
3.5 |
39 |
68.7 |
2.7 |
4 |
0.29 |
17% |
0.19 |
45 |
168 |
|
Dallas-Fort Worth |
72.5 |
4.2 |
85 |
50.1 |
3.7 |
30 |
61.3 |
3.9 |
2 |
0.07 |
2% |
0.06 |
181 |
73 |
|
Del Rio |
82.8 |
6.8 |
94 |
57.3 |
5.7 |
36 |
70.0 |
6.2 |
2 |
0.04 |
4% |
0.03 |
30 |
194 |
|
El Paso |
78.1 |
7.9 |
87 |
48.3 |
4.6 |
34 |
63.2 |
6.2 |
0 |
0.00 |
0% |
0.00 |
89 |
40 |
|
Galveston |
71.5 |
1.5 |
80 |
60.3 |
2.1 |
47 |
65.9 |
1.8 |
4 |
2.70 |
98% |
2.55 |
50 |
86 |
|
Houston |
76.9 |
3.6 |
86 |
56.2 |
4.9 |
37 |
66.5 |
4.2 |
4 |
0.78 |
23% |
0.47 |
71 |
126 |
|
Lubbock |
72.9 |
6.7 |
90 |
38.2 |
2.0 |
27 |
55.6 |
4.4 |
4 |
0.35 |
46% |
0.28 |
296 |
11 |
|
Midland |
79.8 |
8.9 |
91 |
43.9 |
3.1 |
27 |
61.9 |
6.0 |
1 |
0.04 |
10% |
0.04 |
152 |
63 |
|
Port Arthur |
74.6 |
2.6 |
82 |
55.3 |
2.9 |
39 |
65.0 |
2.8 |
4 |
2.04 |
54% |
3.81 |
82 |
87 |
|
San Angelo |
81.0 |
9.9 |
93 |
47.9 |
4.6 |
23 |
64.5 |
7.3 |
1 |
0.10 |
10% |
0.10 |
126 |
117 |
|
San Antonio |
78.5 |
4.2 |
86 |
55.2 |
5.3 |
33 |
66.8 |
4.7 |
1 |
0.01 |
1% |
0.01 |
66 |
133 |
|
Victoria |
79.5 |
6.1 |
86 |
57.2 |
3.3 |
36 |
68.4 |
4.7 |
4 |
0.96 |
43% |
0.51 |
47 |
158 |
|
Waco |
75.0 |
4.8 |
94 |
49.7 |
2.9 |
27 |
62.4 |
3.9 |
4 |
0.15 |
6% |
0.83 |
168 |
95 |
|
Wichita Falls |
72.5 |
5.3 |
92 |
42.5 |
1.4 |
29 |
57.5 |
3.3 |
1 |
0.06 |
3% |
0.06 |
268 |
43 |
|
Shreveport, LA |
72.2 |
2.5 |
88 |
48.4 |
1.2 |
33 |
60.3 |
1.8 |
4 |
1.84 |
44% |
1.04 |
196 |
60 |
* Bold
italics indicate a monthly record.
* Complete
temperature data were unavailable. Temperatures are rounded to the nearest
whole degree.
*HDD
- Heating degree-day: Refer to the Monthly Average chart for a definition T = Trace
(<0.005")
*CDD
- Cooling degree-day: Refer to the Monthly Average chart for a definition M: Information not
available.
CLIMATIC
AVERAGES FOR APRIL
|
|
TMAX |
TMIN |
Precipitation
(In.) |
Mean Number of
Days in Month |
||||||||
|
Station |
Avg. |
Record |
Avg. |
Record |
Avg. |
Gr'st Mon. Total |
Gr'st 24 hr.
Total |
TMAX > 90°F |
TMIN < 32°F |
Days PRCP ≥
0.01" |
HDD* |
CDD* |
|
Abilene |
77.3 |
102 |
51.8 |
25 |
1.7 |
9.80 |
3.75 |
2.5 |
0.6 |
5.1 |
113 |
94 |
|
Amarillo |
70.6 |
98 |
41.7 |
13 |
1.3 |
6.45 |
2.65 |
0.7 |
4.3 |
5.4 |
291 |
18 |
|
Austin |
78.9 |
99 |
57.6 |
30 |
2.5 |
19.82 |
3.86 |
1.6 |
0.0 |
7.2 |
44 |
147 |
|
Brownsville |
82.3 |
102 |
65.2 |
37 |
2.0 |
10.35 |
9.37 |
3.1 |
0.0 |
4.0 |
7 |
287 |
|
College Station |
78.8 |
96 |
56.9 |
28 |
3.2 |
12.50 |
5.30 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
6.6 |
40 |
127 |
|
Corpus Christi |
80.7 |
102 |
62.3 |
33 |
2.1 |
9.21 |
7.19 |
1.9 |
0.0 |
5.2 |
19 |
229 |
|
Dallas-Fort Worth |
75.9 |
101 |
54.0 |
29 |
3.2 |
17.64 |
4.55 |
0.8 |
0.2 |
7.1 |
74 |
72 |
|
Del Rio |
82.7 |
106 |
58.5 |
33 |
1.7 |
7.51 |
4.57 |
6.6 |
0.0 |
5.2 |
27 |
207 |
|
El Paso |
78.1 |
98 |
51.1 |
23 |
0.2 |
2.24 |
1.08 |
2.3 |
0.9 |
1.7 |
100 |
72 |
|
Galveston |
75.2 |
92 |
64.7 |
38 |
2.6 |
11.04 |
9.23 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
5.5 |
15 |
163 |
|
Houston |
79.1 |
95 |
57.9 |
31 |
3.6 |
10.92 |
8.16 |
0.9 |
0.1 |
7.0 |
48 |
147 |
|
Lubbock |
74.7 |
100 |
45.4 |
18 |
1.3 |
6.18 |
3.55 |
1.6 |
1.4 |
5.0 |
182 |
48 |
|
Midland |
78.8 |
101 |
48.6 |
20 |
0.7 |
3.59 |
1.62 |
3.8 |
0.9 |
3.2 |
120 |
77 |
|
Port Arthur |
77.8 |
94 |
58.6 |
32 |
3.8 |
15.30 |
10.09 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
6.7 |
41 |
140 |
|
San Angelo |
79.0 |
103 |
51.0 |
25 |
1.6 |
5.10 |
3.32 |
4.7 |
0.8 |
4.6 |
93 |
107 |
|
San Antonio |
80.4 |
101 |
56.9 |
31 |
2.6 |
11.64 |
4.88 |
2.2 |
0.0 |
7.3 |
42 |
161 |
|
Victoria |
79.2 |
100 |
60.1 |
33 |
3.0 |
11.70 |
9.87 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
6.4 |
28 |
181 |
|
Waco |
77.6 |
101 |
54.2 |
26 |
3.0 |
13.37 |
5.09 |
1.4 |
0.2 |
6.7 |
77 |
111 |
|
Wichita Falls |
75.5 |
102 |
49.3 |
24 |
2.6 |
8.50 |
5.33 |
1.9 |
0.7 |
6.5 |
140 |
66 |
|
Shreveport, LA |
76.6 |
96 |
53.8 |
31 |
4.4 |
21.84 |
10.44 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
8.2 |
89 |
87 |
*CDD
- Cooling degree-day: The difference between the mean individual daily
temperature and 65°F, with one CDD resulting for each degree above the standard
65°F during one day.
*HDD - Heating degree-day: The difference between
the mean individual daily temperature and 65°F, with one HDD resulting for each
degree below the standard 65°F during one day.
Climate-related
Agricultural Information
Past Weather
Events in April
April 28, 1893: Tornado. Cisco, Eastland County; 23 killed, 93 injured;
damage $400,000.
April 5-8, 1900: Rainstorm. A storm, centered over the Brazos River
watershed, precipitated an average of 17 inches over an area of 7,000 square
miles. At Hearne the gage overflowed at
24 inches, and there was an estimated total rainfall of 30 inches. At Turnersvile, Coryell County, 33 inches
were recorded in three days. This rain
caused the worst Brazos River flood on record.
Between 30 and 35 lives were lost.
Property damage was estimated at $9 million.
April 9, 1919: Tornado. Leonard, Ector, and Ravenna in Fannin County;
20 killed, 45 injured; damage $125,000. Tornado. Henderson,
Van Zandt, Wood, Camp, and Red River counties, 42 killed, 150 injured; damage
$450,000.
April 12, 1927: Tornado. Edwards, Real and Uvalde counties; 74 killed,
205 injured; damage $1,230,000. Most of
damage was in Rocksprings where 72 deaths occurred and town was practically
destroyed.
April 9, 1947: Tornado. White Deer, Carson County; Glazier, Hemphill
County; and Higgins, Lipscomb County; 68 killed, 201 injured; damage
$1,550,000. Glazier completely
destroyed. One of the
largest tornadoes on record. Width of path, 1 mile at Higgins; length of path, 221 miles across
portions of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
This tornado also struck Woodward, Oklahoma.
April 2, 1957: Tornado. Dallas, Dallas County; 10 killed, 200
injured; damage $4 million. Moving
through Oak Cliff and West Dallas, it damaged 574 buildings, largely homes.
April 3, 1964: Tornado. Wichita Falls. Seven killed, 111 injured; damage $15
million; 225 homes destroyed, 50 with major damage, 200 with minor damage. Sixteen other buildings received major
damage.
April 10, 1979: The worst single tornado
in Texas' history hit Wichita Falls.
Earlier on the same day, several tornadoes hit farther west. The destruction in Wichita Falls resulted in
42 dead, 1,740 injured, over 3,000 homes destroyed and damage of approximately
$400 million. An estimated 20,000
persons were left homeless by this storm.
In all, the tornadoes on April 10 killed 53 people, injured 1,812 and
caused over $500 million in damages.
Dr.
John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)
Brent
McRoberts (Graduate Assistant)
Marissa
Pazos (Undergraduate Assistant)