WFO San Angelo Climatology

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
330 AM CST FRI JAN 4 2002

...WEST CENTRAL TEXAS WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS SUMMARY FOR 2001...

SOME OF THE MAJOR WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FOR THE 
YEAR 2001 INCLUDE A SIGNIFICANT WINTER WEATHER EVENT...A SEVERE 
DROUGHT IN THE SUMMER...AND AN ACTIVE AUTUMN SEVERE WEATHER SEASON. 

TOTAL RAINFALL FOR THE YEAR WAS BELOW NORMAL FOR ABILENE AND SAN 
ANGELO. HOWEVER...BENEFICIAL RAINFALL WAS MORE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED 
THROUGH THIS YEAR ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THAN DURING THE PREVIOUS 
TWO YEARS. 

AT ABILENE REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE ANNUAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 2001
WAS 64.9 DEGREES. THIS WAS 0.3 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL ANNUAL 
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 64.6 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR
WAS 21.87 INCHES. THIS WAS 2.53 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL ANNUAL 
PRECIPITATION OF 24.40 INCHES. TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE YEAR AT ABILENE
WAS 5.0 INCHES. THIS WAS EIGHT TENTHS OF AN INCH BELOW THE NORMAL 
YEARLY SNOWFALL OF 5.8 INCHES.

AT SAN ANGELO REGIONAL AIRPORT...THE ANNUAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 
2001 WAS 65.8 DEGREES. THIS WAS 0.9 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL ANNUAL 
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 64.9 DEGREES. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR
WAS 18.53 INCHES. THIS WAS 1.92 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL ANNUAL 
PRECIPITATION OF 20.45 INCHES. TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE YEAR AT SAN 
ANGELO WAS 4.0 INCHES. THIS WAS THREE TENTHS OF AN INCH ABOVE THE 
NORMAL YEARLY SNOWFALL OF 3.7 INCHES. 


ALTHOUGH A FEW UPPER LEVEL WEATHER SYSTEMS BROUGHT WINTRY 
PRECIPITATION TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS DURING JANUARY...THE MOST 
SIGNIFICANT WINTER WEATHER EVENT FOR THE YEAR OCCURRED IN LATE 
NOVEMBER. ON NOVEMBER 28TH...A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM 
BROUGHT MIXED PRECIPITATION TO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. THE HEAVIER SNOW 
FELL GENERALLY WEST OF A LINE FROM SONORA TO EDEN TO CROSS PLAINS. 
SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES WERE COMMON...WITH A FEW LOCATIONS 
REPORTING 6 TO 8 INCH AMOUNTS. ABILENE REPORTED 5 INCHES OF SNOW...
WHILE SAN ANGELO RECORDED 4 INCHES. THE PRECIPITATION WAS MOSTLY 
FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET OVER THE HEARTLAND AND NORTHWEST HILL 
COUNTRY...WHERE SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS OCCURRED. TEMPERATURES 
HOVERED IN THE MID TO UPPER 20S ACROSS THE REGION DURING THIS EVENT 
WITH WIND CHILL READINGS IN THE TEENS.    

IN FEBRUARY...A LATE WINTER SEASON SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ON THE 24TH 
CAUSED WIND DAMAGE WHICH RESULTED IN ONE FATALITY IN BROWNWOOD. 
ABILENE RECORDED ITS 10TH WETTEST FEBRUARY.   

DURING THE SPRING MONTHS...TEMPERATURES AVERAGED NEAR NORMAL IN APRIL
AND ABOVE NORMAL IN MAY...BUT WERE CONSISTENTLY BELOW NORMAL IN 
MARCH. RAINFALL WAS BELOW NORMAL IN APRIL. SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT SEVERE
WEATHER EVENTS OCCURRED IN WEST CENTRAL TEXAS DURING THE SPRING...
WHICH IS TYPICALLY OUR MOST ACTIVE SEVERE WEATHER SEASON. THE LARGEST
HAIL REPORTS INCLUDED GRAPEFRUIT SIZE 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DOOLE 
(MCCULLOCH COUNTY) ON MAY 7TH...BASEBALL SIZE IN WALL (TOM GREEN 
COUNTY) ON APRIL 16TH...AND BASEBALL SIZE AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN 
UNIVERSITY ON MAY 30TH. TWO SIGNIFICANT SEVERE STORM COMPLEXES 
AFFECTED WEST CENTRAL TEXAS IN LATE MAY. ONE STORM COMPLEX BROUGHT 
WIND DAMAGE AND LARGE HAIL TO THE CONCHO VALLEY ON MAY 27TH. THE 
OTHER STORM COMPLEX BROUGHT LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN TO THE BIG 
COUNTRY ON MAY 30TH. SIGNIFICANT WIND DAMAGE OCCURRED IN PARTS OF THE
BIG COUNTRY ON JUNE 12TH. A TORNADO WAS REPORTED NEAR ROSCOE. VERY 
STRONG WINDS CAUSED DAMAGE IN ROSCOE...SWEETWATER...AND 6 MILES 
SOUTHEAST OF HAMLIN. 

HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS DEVELOPED IN JUNE AND PERSISTED THROUGH THE 
FIRST HALF OF AUGUST...AS AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM BECAME 
ESTABLISHED OVER THE REGION. SAN ANGELO RECORDED ITS 3RD WARMEST JULY
AND TIED ITS TENTH WARMEST JUNE ON RECORD. ABILENE RECORDED ITS 3RD 
WARMEST AND 4TH DRIEST JULY. THE PERSISTENT HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS 
COMBINED WITH HIGH EVAPORATION RATES LED TO SEVERE DROUGHT 
CONDITIONS ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. BY THE SECOND HALF OF 
AUGUST HOWEVER...THE UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM BROKE DOWN AND 
ALLOWED MOISTURE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO TO MOVE INTO WEST CENTRAL 
TEXAS. THIS RESULTED IN BENEFICIAL RAINFALL WHICH BROUGHT SHORT-
TERM RELIEF TO THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS.  

WEST CENTRAL TEXAS NORMALLY EXPERIENCES A SECONDARY PEAK OF SEVERE 
WEATHER IN THE FALL...BUT THIS IS USUALLY LESS ACTIVE THAN IN THE 
SPRING.  THIS YEAR HOWEVER...SEVERE WEATHER WAS JUST AS ACTIVE IN THE
FALL AS IT WAS IN THE SPRING. ON SEPTEMBER 8TH...THREE TORNADOES WERE 
REPORTED IN CALLAHAN COUNTY...ALONG WITH A TORNADO IN COLEMAN COUNTY.
HOWEVER...THESE TORNADOES DID NOT CAUSE MAJOR DAMAGE. BASEBALL SIZE 
HAIL FELL AT ROWDEN (CALLAHAN COUNTY). SEVERE STORMS STRUCK THE BIG 
COUNTRY ON SEPTEMBER 20TH WITH LARGE HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN...WITH 
A 73 MPH WIND GUST REPORTED JUST NORTH OF ABILENE. ON OCTOBER 10TH...
SEVERE STORMS BROUGHT LARGE HAIL AND FLASH FLOODING TO THE BIG 
COUNTRY. LARGE HAIL WAS REPORTED AT NEARLY A DOZEN LOCATIONS.  

BENEFICIAL RAINFALL OCCURRED IN NOVEMBER...WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT 
HEAVY RAIN EVENT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH (NOVEMBER 14TH TO 17TH).
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WERE COMMON...WITH A FEW LOCATIONS
RECEIVING 4 TO 6 INCH AMOUNTS. THE HEAVY RAIN CAUSED SOME ROAD AND 
RIVER FLOODING. SAN ANGELO RECORDED ITS 5TH WETTEST AND 7TH WARMEST 
NOVEMBER. ABILENE TIED ITS 6TH WETTEST AND SET ITS 9TH WARMEST 
NOVEMBER ON RECORD. 

A DRY AND MILD PATTERN SET UP IN DECEMBER AND DOMINATED FOR MUCH OF 
THE MONTH. COLD AIR INVADED THE REGION FROM CANADA LATE IN DECEMBER.