Volume 18 Number 4                                                                                                             April 2005

         

          The month of April was very dry throughout the entire state with every first-order station recording monthly precipitation below normal levels.  The month was dominated by high pressure systems that helped the state have clear skies and warm temperatures.  A cold front quickly passed through on the 6th bringing some heavy showers to numerous stations.  The most significant cold front occurred on the 25th, and heavy showers for the northern half the state helped raise monthly rainfall totals a bit.  Another quick cold front passed through on the 29th, and the month ended with clear skies and temperatures in the 70s for most of the state.

          Many first-order stations received less than a tenth of an inch of rainfall for the entire month including Abilene (0.01”), Brownsville (0.03”), Del Rio (0.05”), Midland (0.01”), San Angelo (0.03”), and San Antonio (0.01”).  San Antonio had their driest April ever, while several other stations (Abilene, Brownsville, Dallas/Fort Worth, Del Rio, Midland, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls) each had one of their ten driest Aprils on record.  Temperatures were just about average for April across most of the state. The High Plains, Edwards Plateau, and South Central regions were slightly below normal, while the North Central, Southern, and Lower Valley regions were just above typical April levels. In all, temperatures for the month varied no more than a degree from the April average for most of the stations in Texas.

          For the entire month, there were 6 tornadoes reported, 25 reports of high winds, and 167 hail reports.  Of those reports, 2 of the wind reports were above 65 knots (75 mph), and 15 of the hail reports were larger than 2 inches in diameter.

 

APRIL 2005


* Based on 1971-2000 normals

* 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 MAY


Records are at the current site, other records may have occurred at previous sites.

*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.

 

 

 

Past Weather Events in May

 

May 15, 1896:  Tornadoes, Sherman, Grayson, County; Justin, Denton County; Gribble Springs, Cooke County; 76 killed; damage $225,000.

 

May 30, 1909:  Tornado. Zephyr, Brown County; 28 killed, many injured; damage $90,000.

 

May 7, 1919:  Windstorms.  Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron Counties.  Violent thunderstorms with high winds, hail and rain occurred between Rio Grande City and the coast, killing 10 persons.  Damage to property and crops was $500,000.  Seven were killed at Mission.

 

May 24-31, 1929:  Rainstorm.  Beginning over Caldwell County, a storm spread over much of Central and Coastal Texas with maximum rainfall of 12.9 inches, causing floods in Colorado, Guadalupe, Brazos, Trinity, Neches, and Sabine rivers.  Much damage at Houston from overflow of bayous.  Damage estimated at $6 million.

 

May 11, 1953:  Tornado.  Waco, McLennan County; 114 killed, 597 injured; damage $41,150,000.  One of two most disastrous tornadoes; 150 homes destroyed, 900 homes damaged; 185 other buildings destroyed; 500 other buildings damaged.

 

May 11, 1970:  Tornado.  Lubbock, Lubbock County.  Twenty-six killed, 500 injured; damage $135 million.  Fifteen square miles, almost one-quarter of the city of Lubbock, suffered damage.

 

May 5, 1995:  A thunderstorm moved across the Dallas/Fort Worth area with 70 mph wind gusts and rainfall rates of almost 3 inches in 30 minutes (5 inches in 1 hour).  Twenty people lost their lives as a result of this storm, 109 people were injured by large hail and, with more than $2 billion in damage, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration dubbed it the "costliest thunderstorm event in history."

 

May 27, 1997:  A half-mile-wide F5 tornado struck Jarrell (Williamson Co.), leveling the Double Creek subdivision, claiming 27 lives, injuring 12 others, and causing more than $40 million in damage.

 

 

Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)

Brent McRoberts (Graduate Assistant)

Michael Hammer (Undergraduate Assistant)