Climate Summary for September 2014

Precipitation for September varied from well-above to well-below normal across west-central Texas (Figure 1).  

Figure 1: Percent of Normal Precipitation for September, 2014.

The blue and purple shading in Figure 1 show areas where precipitation was above normal (more than 150 percent of normal).  Areas where precipitation was below normal (less than 50 percent of normal) are shown in orange and red shading. 

At Abilene Regional Airport, the average temperature for September was 77.8 degrees.  This was 2.3 degrees above the normal average temperature of 75.5 degrees. Total precipitation for Abilene in September was 0.77 inches. This was 1.47 inches below the normal of 2.24 inches.

At San Angelo Regional Airport, the average temperature for September was 77.7 degrees. This was 2.1 degrees above the normal average temperature of 75.6 degrees.  Total precipitation for San Angelo was 0.89 inches. This was 1.57 inches below the normal of 2.46 inches.  
 

The number of days in September with high temperatures of 100 degrees or more  include:
2 at San Angelo, 2 at Abilene, and zero at Junction. 

Hot and dry conditions with above normal temperatures occurred during the first several days of the month, as an upper level high pressure system expanded over the region.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms with locally heavy rainfall occurred on September 5-8, when a moist airmass was in place.  Scattered locations across central sections of west-central Texas (Concho Valley and Heartland areas) received 1.5 to 3 inches of rainfall, with isolated amounts between 3 and 5 inches.  A weak cold front moved south across west-central Texas on the 6th.  With more extensive cloud cover, temperatures were much cooler on the 6th across the northern and western Big Country, where highs were only in the mid to upper 60s. Temperatures were slightly cooler on the 6th across the remainder of northern and central sections of west-central Texas.  

Hot and dry conditions occurred on the 9th and 10th.  On the 10th, record high temperatures were set at Abilene (103 degrees) and San Angelo (102 degrees) on the 10th, and a record high minimum temperature was tied at Abilene (78 degrees).

A weak cold front moved south across much of west-central Texas on the 10th and 11th. With a moist airmass, showers and thunderstorms with locally heavy rainfall occurred on the 11th, The coverage was more extensive across the area south of a line from Mertzon to Eden to Richland Springs.  Across that area, scattered locations received 1.5 to 3 inches of rainfall, with isolated amounts between 3 and 4 inches. 

The passage of a strong cold front on the 12th brought an early taste of Fall to the area.  Temperatures on the 12th dropped from the 60s into the 50s across the Big Country, accompanied by cloudy skies and gusty north winds. Farther south, temperatures across the Concho Valley and Heartland areas dropped into the 60s during the afternoon and evening. Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms occurred on the 12th.  The cool air remained over the area on the 13th.  Across much of the area, early morning lows were in the 50-55 degree range, and afternoon highs were in the mid to upper 60s, with considerable cloud cover during the day.

The pattern was somewhat unsettled on September 15-20, with warm and humid conditions and a moist airmass. Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms occurred across various parts of west-central Texas on the 16th through the 16th and 17th.  Some of the rainfall was locally heavy, especially on the 18th and 19th.  The rainfall for September 15-21 is captured in Figure 2 (below), which shows rainfall amounts for the 7-day period ending at 7 AM on the 22nd.

Figure 2.  Rainfall for the 7-day period ending at 7 AM, September 22nd.

The highest rainfall totals occurred mostly across northern, central and eastern parts of west-central Texas.  Scattered locations received 3-5 inches of rainfall during this period, with a few isolated totals over 5 inches.  

A few rain showers occurred on the 22nd and 23rd, but coverage was low. With a weak upper level disturbance over southwestern Texas, showers and a few thunderstorms occurred across the southern third of west-central Texas on the 26th. A few additional showers occurred along the Interstate 10 corridor during the overnight hours of the 26th and 27th.  In southwestern Kimble and south-central Crockett Counties, pockets of heavier rainfall occurred with amounts of one-half to 1.5 inches.

Patchy dense fog occurred in parts of Crockett and Sutton Counties on the early morning of the 28th. Visibilities dropped to one quarter of a mile or less at Sonora and Ozona.  

Dry and warm conditions occurred at the end of the month.