Volume 17 Number 9 SEPTEMBER 2004

The state of Texas experienced an abnormal September in many ways. The month began with a continuation of cool, dry weather from August. The Gulf Coast experienced some heavy showers with Galveston recording 1.89” of rain on the 3^rd and Corpus Christi receiving 3.89” on the 4^th. A cold front moved across the state beginning on the 5^th, and high temperatures dropped to the 80s across the state. A high pressure system then settled over the state, and the weather was warm and dry for over a week. A few scattered showers appeared during the end of the second week of September, but little else occurred until the third week of the month. Showers began to soak most of west Texas beginning on the 20^th due to a low pressure system in the southwest United States. A frontal system that began to move over the state on the 22^nd became stationary and dropped copious amounts of rain on several stations. From the 22^nd-28^th, rainfall totals topped 2.00” in: Amarillo (3.28”), Del Rio (3.04”), Lubbock (4.37”), Midland (4.32”), and San Angelo (2.01”). There were also some reports of hail during these days including 2.50” in Tom Green County on the 23^rd.

Also during this time, an event with little precedence occurred – the remnants of Hurricane Ivan curved back into the Gulf, and it intensified back to tropical storm strength. The storm hit land again just east of Port Arthur, and moved parallel to the coast bringing over 1.00” of rain to Port Arthur and Corpus Christi. For the month, the western half of the state was wet and cool while the eastern half received little rainfall and hot temperatures. Five stations had less than 1.00” of rain for the entire month: Abilene, El Paso, Waco, Wichita Falls, and College Station (which had its 2^nd-driest September ever).

SEPTEMBER 2004

* 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 OCTOBER

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.

All times given for sunrise, sunset, and moon phase times are calculated for the intersection of

Meridian 99°10' W and parallel 31°23' N, which is the approximate geographic center of the state.

Agricultural Weather Highlights

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

Past Weather Events in October

October 3, 1867: Hurricane. This hurricane moved inland south of Galveston, but raked the entire Texas coast from the Rio Grande to the Sabine. Bagdad and Clarksville, towns at the mouth of the Rio Grande, were destroyed. Much of Galveston was flooded and property damage there was estimated at $1 million.

October 12-13, 1880: Hurricane. Brownsville. City nearly destroyed, many lives lost.

October 12, 1886: Hurricane. Sabine, Jefferson County. Hurricane passed over Sabine. The inundation extended 20 miles inland and nearly every house in the vicinity was moved from its foundation; 150 persons were drowned.

October 28, 1960: Rainstorm. Rains of 7-10 inches fell in South Central Texas; 11 died from drowning in flash floods. In Austin about 300 families were driven from their homes. Damage in Austin was estimated at $2.5 million.

October 11-14, 1981: Record rains in North Central Texas caused by the remains of Pacific Hurricane Norma. Over 20 inches fell in some locations.

October 15-19, 1994: Extreme amounts of rainfall, up to 28.90 inches over a 4-day period, fell throughout southeastern part of the state. Seventeen lives were lost, most of them victims of flash flooding. Many rivers reached record flood levels during this period. Houston was cut off from many other parts of the state, as numerous roads, including Interstate 10, were under water. Damage was estimated to be near $700 million; 26 counties were declared disaster areas.

October 17-19, 1998: A massive and devastating flood set all-time records for rainfall and river levels, resulted in the deaths of 25 people, injured more than 2,000 others, and caused more than $500 million damage from the Hill Country to the counties surrounding San Antonio to the south and east.

January-October, 2000: A severe drought plagued most of Texas. Some regions experienced little to no rain for several months during the summer. Abilene saw no rain for 72 consecutive days, while Dallas had no rain for 84 consecutive days during the summer. During July, aquifers were reaching all-time lows, and lake and streams fell to critical levels. Most regions had to cut back or stop agriculture due to lack of rain. The drought caused $515 million in agricultural loss according to USDA figures.

Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)

Michael Hammer (Undergraduate Assistant)