Volume 17 Number 2.2 February 19, 2004

The second week of February was very wet and colder than normal. A front moved over the Southeast portion of the state and brought heavy rain to large areas in the Upper Coast, South Central, and East regions. For the 9^th-11^th, Shreveport, Austin, Houston, and Galveston all had at least 2” of rain, College Station received 3”, and Port Arthur collected over 3.75”. On the 12^th, an arctic air mass fell over the Panhandle and West Texas dropping temperatures into the 10s and 20s. Heavy snow also fell over the area: Amarillo received 2.6” and Lubbock got 1.2” on the 12^th and 13^th. The air mass moved eastward and dropped temperatures in the North Central, South Central, and Upper Coast regions to record lows. Dallas received 3” of snow and Waco got 2.3” on a frozen Valentine’s Day. Temperatures for these regions stayed in the 30s and 20s. The beginning of the third week of February saw warm, sunny skies return to the state as temperatures climbed into the 60s and 70s for most of the state.

Forecast for the Week

For the week of February 19, 2004: The beginning of the weekend will be very pleasant for the state. Most regions in the eastern half of the state will see partly cloudy skies on Friday and Saturday. The North Central region will see highs in the upper 50s to 60s and lows in the 40s. In the South Central and Upper Coast regions, temperatures will be in the mid 60s and lower 70s during the day, and the lows will drop to the lower 40s. Further south, the Southern and Lower Valley regions will see lows in the upper 40s to mid 50s, and highs will be in the lower 70s with temperatures as high as 80 in Brownsville and the surrounding counties. The Lower Valley, Southern, Upper Coast, South Central, North Central, and East regions all have a chance of rain and showers in the forecast for Sunday night into Monday.

March 2004 Outlook:

From the Climate Prediction Center, a small portion of the western Trans Pecos region has a 40% probability of experiencing above normal temperatures. The rest of the Trans Pecos region can expect a 33-40% chance of above normal temperatures while the rest of the state has equal chances for above normal, normal, or below normal temperatures for the month.

The western part of the Trans Pecos region also has a 33-40% probability of experience above normal precipitation. The western edge of the region, including the city of El Paso, has a greater than 40% chance for above normal precipitation. The rest of the state has equal chances of experiencing above normal, normal, or below normal precipitation.

(Forecast material obtained from the National Weather Service)

Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)

Michael Hammer (Undergraduate Assistant)