Volume 16 Number 3 MARCH 2003

For the month of March, temperatures were slightly below normal for almost the entire state, with the most extreme departure from normal reported at Austin, with 5.7 degrees Fahrenheit below normal. Amarillo, Del Rio, Lubbock, Midland, Port Arthur, San Angelo were the exceptions with temperatures slightly above normal for the month of March. Precipitation was also sparse around the state with two stations, Del Rio and San Angelo, meeting 100% of the total average precipitation for the month.

MARCH 2003

* 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 APRIL

Based on 1971-2000 Normals

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.

Agricultural weather highlights:

http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/CROP/

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)

Andrew Odins (Graduate Assistant)

Kelsey Curtiss (Undergraduate Assistant)