Volume 18 Number 3 MARCH 2005

The month of March started off with little out of the ordinary occurring across much of the state. Temperatures started off slightly below normal, especially across the eastern half of the state. Precipitation was not a major problem in most areas, with little in the way of heavy rainfall. However, Galveston received 1.12” on March 2 and 1.67” on March 7.

Again, severe weather and precipitation were absent for the most part from the weather pattern in the week that followed. March 12 was the warmest day for the month for most first-order stations, but was quickly followed by an abrupt cooling trend. March 16 was reported to have the lowest average temperature for this March across most of the state.

Severe weather finally made its way into the picture on March 19 with numerous reports of large hail. Hail 2.00” in diameter was reported in Caldwell, with numerous reports of 1.75” hail across Southeast Texas. Temperatures were well below normal across the state starting off the third week of March but recovered to more normal levels by the end of the week.

The first tornado reports of the month came on March 25, with two reports in Travis county just outside of Austin. The end of March brought air much cooler than normal across much of the state, with many first-order stations reporting temperatures more than ten degrees below average on March 26 and March 27. March 26 was also a soggy day across North Central Texas with rainfall totals of 0.91” in Dallas, 1.23” in Denton, and 1.06” in Paris.

For the month in general, stations had temperatures that were just slightly below normal, with the exception being deep South Texas. The Edwards Plateau, South Central, and Upper Coastal regions experienced above normal precipitation, while North Central and East Texas were drier than average.

Brent McRoberts (Graduate Assistant)

MARCH 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 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)

Brent McRoberts (Graduate Assistant)

Michael Hammer (Undergraduate Assistant)