Cold weather with snow flurries was observed from the northern part of San Antonio to the New Braunfels area New Years Day, and cold continue on Jan. 2, giving way to a hard freeze across the area on January 3. The cold weather though was followed by even colder weather in late February and early March.

The year 2002 roared in like a lion, producing a threat of winter weather over much of South Central Texas. Snow flurries were reported from northern San Antonio into New Braunfels on New Year's Day as temperatures held in the mid and upper 30s over most of the area. A mix of winter precipitation affected South Central Texas north of Interstate 10 and US90 on the morning of the 2nd, with patches of freezing rain and snow observed across parts of the Hill Country. Skies cleared on the 3rd, and temperatures warmed back into the 50s.

Cold Outbreak of Late February and Early March.

Dry and warm weather came the weekend of February 23 and 24th, after a fast moving cold front swept across the region on Thursday the 21st. The warm weather continued through Monday the 25th. During the day of Monday, February 25th, afternoon highs warmed into the 70s over many locations over the eastern part of South Central Texas and near 80 to the Mid 80s over western parts of South Central Texas. Del Rio warmed up to 85, making the 25th the warmest day for Del Rio in February 2002. A Strong Late February Cold Front moved through Central and South Central Texas the night of February 25th and early morning of Tuesday, February 26th, 2002. Much colder weather followed in the day of Tuesday, February 26, with afternoon temperatures 30 to 40 degrees colder than the day before. Morning to early afternoon clouds, and strong, cold north winds kept afternoon highs near 40 to the 40s. Highs for February 26th in the area came just after Midnight, then fell for the rest of the day in wake of the strong cold front. Even in the following afternoon, temperatures could not warm-up to where they were after midnight because of the strong north winds and morning to early afternoon cloud cover. If the clouds had not broken up in the early to mid afternoon, even colder conditions would have occurred Tuesday afternoon the 26th. With unseasonably cold air, mostly clear skies, light winds and very dry conditions, early mornings lows on February 27, 2002 broke records at many locations for February 27th and the Fall 2001/Winter 2002 Season.

AUSTIN BERGSTROM...13...BROKE PREVIOUS FEB. 27TH
                        RECORD OF 31 SET IN 2000.

AUSTIN MABRY 25.........OLD RECORD IN 1935 OF
                        23 FOR FEB 27TH STILL STANDS.

DEL RIO 20..............BROKE PREVIOUS FEB. 27TH
                        RECORD OF 29 SET IN 1924.

SAN ANTONIO 17..........BROKE PREVIOUS FEB. 27TH
                        RECORD OF 28 SET IN 1977.

ALL-TIME FEBRUARY LOWS ARE AS FOLLOWS...

AUSTIN MABRY......-1 FEB. 12, 1899
AUSTIN BERGSTROM...8 FEB.  2, 1951
DEL RIO...........11 FEB.  2, 1951
SAN ANTONIO........4 FEB. 12, 1899


LOWS AT OTHER LOCATIONS FEB. 27, 2002 ARE LISTED BELOW.

10 MILES WEST OF HUNT...8
JUNCTION...9
1 MILE NORTH OF PANDALE...12
CARTA VALLEY...12
CAMP WOOD...11
HONDO...13
NEW BRAUNFELS...20 - Jan. 3rd low of 18 still coldest for Fall 2001/Winter 2002 
GEORGETOWN...18
SAN MARCOS...19...Also 19 on January 3rd, 2002
BURNET...18
1 MILE NORTHWEST OF TAYLOR...18
2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CEDAR CREEK...17
SAN ANTONIO STINSON FIELD...19
CARRIZO SPRINGS...16

In wake of the cold low of February 27th, afternoon highs were near 50 to the Mid 50s. Mostly clear skies in the evening of the 27th helped temperatures fall quickly, then after Midnight, low clouds from the south increased across the area. Overnight lows were not as cold. Mostly cloudy skies prevailed in the day of February 28th, with afternoon highs in the 50s, except near 60 in the Del Rio Area. The extremes in temperatures during February 2002 are nothing new, as February has brought many extremes in the past.

After a brief warmup on Friday the 1st of March, early March 2002 cold temperatures continued in wake of another strong cold front that came through on the 2nd. This Cold Outbreak brought record low temperatures to Central and South Central Texas. Monthly Records for the Month of March were tied, broken, or almost broken.

March Monthly Records As of March 5, 2002

The March 4th and 5th, 2002 Lows are shown below.

                                       
AUSTIN BERGSTROM...17...MARCH 4TH...BROKE PREVIOUS MARCH LOW OF 19
                        AND MARCH 4TH RECORD OF 25 SET IN 1971.

AUSTIN BERGSTROM...17...MARCH 5TH...TIED MARCH LOW OF 17 MARCH 4...2002.
                        BROKE MARCH 5TH RECORD OF 26 SET IN 1978.


AUSTIN MABRY 24.........MARCH 4TH BROKE PREVIOUS MARCH 4TH LOW OF 26
                        SET IN 1978.

AUSTIN MABRY 31.........MARCH 5TH...2002.  RECORD STILL 25 MARCH 5...1917

DEL RIO 25..............MARCH 4TH BROKE PREVIOUS MARCH 4TH LOW OF 27
                        SET IN 1965.

DEL RIO 31..............MARCH 5TH...2002.  RECORD STILL 27 MARCH 5...1917


SAN ANTONIO 19..........MARCH 4TH TIED PREVIOUS MARCH LOW OF 19
                        AND BROKE MARCH 4TH RECORD OF
                        23 SET IN 1965.

SAN ANTONIO 27..........MARCH 5TH...2002.  RECORD STILL 26 MARCH 5...1966

ALL-TIME MARCH LOWS ARE NOW AS FOLLOWS...

AUSTIN MABRY......18 MAR. 2, 1943 AND MAR. 12, 1948
AUSTIN BERGSTROM..17 MAR. 4, 2002 AND 17 MAR. 5, 2002
DEL RIO...........19 MAR. 1, 1922 
SAN ANTONIO.......19 MAR. 4, 2002 AND 19 MAR. 2, 1980


LOWS AT OTHER LOCATIONS MAR. 4, 2002 ARE LISTED BELOW.

CEDAR CREEK...21
SAN ANTONIO 8NNE...21
SAN ANTONIO DOWNTOWN...28
JOHNSON CITY...15
CARRIZO SPRINGS...22
ROCKSPINGS...19
CHEAPSIDE...17
2 MILES NORTH OF KARNES CITY...18
10 MILES WEST OF HUNT...10
JUNCTION...11
1 MILE NORTH OF PANDALE...19
3 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF KERRVILLE...11
EAGLE PASS...26
CARTA VALLEY...12
CAMP WOOD...12
HONDO...13
NEW BRAUNFELS...15 - Coldest for Fall 2001/Winter 2002 
GEORGETOWN...19
SAN MARCOS...18 - Coldest for Fall 2001/Winter 2002
BURNET...19
1 MILE NORTHWEST OF TAYLOR...22
SAN ANTONIO STINSON FIELD...21

In the early morning hours of March 2nd, the 2nd Strong Cold Frontal System within a week, swept through the area, with strong north winds, and extending the Late February to Early March Cold Spell, not only in duration, also intensity. Most of the cold air in the February 25/26th cold front came from Northwest Canada and Alaska, while most of the cold air from the March 2nd cold front came from the Arctic Ocean and North Central Canada. On Saturday Morning March 2nd, in wake of the initial cold air, a band of precipitation moved quickly across the Texas Hill Country, Central Texas and northern parts of South Central Texas. Precipitation amounts were light. Austin Mabry picked up 0.03 inches; Austin Bergstrom International Airport 0.02 inches; Burnet 0.03 inches, Johnson City a Trace, and New Braunfels a Trace. On Saturday morning, 25 to 35 mph winds, with peak gusts near 40 to near 50 mph, was observed, adding to the chill of falling temperatures in wake of the strong cold front. The strong north and northwesterly winds gusted to 52 mph at Del Rio; 51 mph at New Braunfels Municipal Airport; 46 mph at Austin Bergstrom International Airport; 45 mph at Hondo; 43 mph at Austin Mabry; and 43 mph at San Antonio International Airport.

After cloudy skies in the early to mid part of the morning Saturday, the clouds lifted higher and thinned out some in the late morning and afternoon on the 2nd to mainly partly cloudy skies, with the high cirrus clouds varying throughout the afternoon at times from mostly sunny to mostly cloudy. The strong upper level jet and high level moisture was responsible for the extensive high cirrus clouds. Even though the cold front had passed through the area hours earlier, northerly winds continued to gust to between 20 and 30 mph throughout the afternoon, after sunset and well into the evening hours, before calming down after Midnight on Sunday the 3rd.

On the 3rd, as the upper level jet turned winds aloft to the northwest and subsidence increased over the area in wake of the upper level trough, mostly clear skies evolved, with a few scattered thin cirrus clouds. Still though, the cold north winds kept blowing on Sunday the 3rd, albeit at a slower speed than on Saturday the 2nd. Even though the Sun was out almost all day, the cold advection of Arctic Air spilling across the area from the north and north northeast limited afternoon highs. Highs in the lower and mid 40s were observed across the hill country to Central Texas, while further south and southwest over South Central Texas, afternoon highs climbed to the upper 40s to near 50. The Highs for March 3rd, 2002 were 20 to 25 degrees below the Climate Normal Highs for March 3rd.

On March 4th a new Monthly Record Low for March was established at Austin Bergstrom International Airport...where the low fell to 17. The previous record was 19 March 2, 1980; 19 March 3, 1943 and 19 March 12, 1948. At San Antonio International Airport the low of 19 Tied the Previous All-Time March Low of 19 March 2, 1980. Daily record lows were established for just the Day of March 4th at Austin Mabry, Austin Bergstrom, Del Rio, and San Antonio. Daily Record lows from the 3rd and 4th were as follows: Del Rio for March 3rd, tied low of 24 also March 3, 1922. Del Rio for March 4th, 25 new Daily March 4th record set in 2002. Austin Mabry for March 4th, new Daily March 4th record of 24 set in 2002. Austin Bergstrom for March 4th, new Daily March 4th record of 17 set in 2002. San Antonio for March 4th, new Daily March 4th record of 19 set in 2002.

On March 5th...cold early morning lows occurred again. Austin Bergstrom had a low of 17 for the 2nd day in a row...making a tie for the March low of 17 first set the day before on March 4th...2002. Junction had a low of 16. Lows in the 20s came from the following locations; Hondo 20...New Braunfels 25...San Antonio 27...San Marcos 27... Burnet 27...and Dryden 28. Austin Mabry had a low of 31 and Del Rio also had a low of 31. During the day increasing clouds developed and skies became cloudy in the afternoon to the evening. Afternoon highs were in the 60s.

The Tornado, Derecho and Hail Outbreak of March

One of the most widespread and impressive severe weather events of 2002 took place during the afternoon and evening of March 19. Beginning near 2 pm CST as a devastating hail storm in extreme northwest Val Verde County, a line of thunderstorms raced eastward, dropping three F0 tornadoes over central Val Verde County, and hail to the size of golfballs in Del Rio. The system dropped a fourth F0 tornado southwest of Brackettville along with large hail. The line of storms also produced wind gusts in the 60 mph to 70 mph range, from Carrizo Springs to Quemado to Brackettville and Hondo. Tornado number five, a small F0, struck near Sabinal just before 7 pm. Then, hail as large as softballs, propelled by the strong winds, blasted large holes in homes and buildings from eastern Uvalde County into the Hondo area. Near Natalia, tornado number six, an F1, struck.

Shortly after 7 pm, the system transitioned into a classic tornadic supercell as it exited southeast Medina County. In the next twenty minutes, it produced six tornadoes over southwest Bexar County. Two were F0s, three were F1s and one was an F2.

Crossing into central Bexar County, the system changed its nature again as the supercell broke down and a line reformed. From this point to the exit of the storm system around 10 pm, the system acted as a line of rapidly moving storms that produced consistent wind gusts to 70 and 80 mph. The south edge of the damage area ran from Pleasanton to Floresville to Giddings. The north edge of damage ran from San Antonio to Elgin to Lexington. Referred to as a "derecho," from the Spanish word for "straight", this type of event was first identified in 1888 by Gustavus Hinricks, and Iowa Climatologist. It is an event of consistent, straight-line wind damage. Often the storms appear weak on radar, but the damage is impressive.

The Tornado and Hail Event of April

Just when it seemed that life was returning to normal along US 90, Mother Nature threw another curve. A line of thunderstorms formed in the early afternoon of April 7th and crossed into western Val Verde County. It began its damage by producing golfball-sized hail at Pandale, then increasing in size to softball and slightly larger hail as it crossed the city of Del Rio. Cars were damaged and destroyed, and windows were obliterated across the city. Then an F0 tornado struck just northwest of Lake Amistad, followed by a second F0 just south of Del Rio. As the storm system moved eastward into Kinney County, it began producing widespread baseball-sized hail. A third F0 tornado was spotted just east of Brackettville. Crossing into Uvalde County, the system produced a fourth F0 several miles west of Uvalde. As it moved into central Medina County, the system again began producing softball-sized hail between D'Hanis and Devine. A fifth tornado, this one, an F2, struck near Yancey, destroying two homes. More damage occurred near Big Foot in northeast Frio County shortly afterward as an F1 tornado touched down briefly. Spotty hail to golfball-size was reported over parts of Bexar, Wilson and Atascosa County until just past midnight.

Severe Weather Events May 27 to May 29.

Showers and thunderstorms affected the western parts of South Central Texas in the evening and night of Saturday May 25th, with Del Rio picking up 0.01 inches of rain. The showers and thunderstorms then continued east and affected the San Antonio and Austin Areas after Midnight to the early morning hours of Sunday, May 26th. San Antonio picked up 1.40 inches of rain, while Austin Mabry had 0.03 inches and Austin Bergstrom 0.02 inches. On the night of Sunday, May 26 and the early morning hours of Monday May 27, showers and thunderstorms affected the western part of South Central Texas. A thunderstorm moved through the Del Rio area between 1 am and 2 am on the 27th, where winds gusted to 59 mph. On Monday the 27th another severe weather event, with showers and thunderstorms, developed in the late afternoon; continued through the evening hours of Monday May 27th; and finally ended in the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 28th. Scattered areas of rain and showers, in the late morning and afternoon of the 28th, moved across the area from the north. On Wednesday the 29th, another severe weather event came to the area, as showers and thunderstorms moved across the area from the north in the late morning through the afternoon hours. Skies cleared the night of the 29th and early morning of the 30th, as slightly cooler air filtered over the area in wake of the thunderstorms. On May 30th, high clouds moved across the area from the north after sunrise, with isolated areas of light rain and isolated showers. Del Rio made it back to 100 degrees. May ended with calm weather under partly cloudy skies, with afternoon highs in the 90s, except for 101 at Del Rio.

June 2002 was mostly dry and very warm until late in the month, when the tide of summer changed to much wetter and more moderated temperatures. It took until late August for temperatures to return to where they were in June and overall slightly hotter for a few days in late August, compared to June.

2002 had been very dry through late June, with rainfall been about 50 percent of normal across South Central Texas. Many cities were struggling with severe water supply problems and either discussing water conservation or already under restrictions. At the end of June, a non-tropical, cold-core trough of low pressure moved inland from the Gulf of Mexico. On June 29, rain falling over South Central Texas signaled the end to this half-year drought. Storms on June 30 were widespread and significant, producing an axis of 3 to 5 inch rainfall from Marble Falls to south of Pleasanton. Isolated totals reached 9 inches. Within a few hours, soils along and west of I-35 and along and north of US 90 were saturated. Flash flooding began near sunrise on June 30, and streams and creeks were running full by mid-afternoon. The rain continued into July.

Showers and thunderstorms again formed late on the evening of July 1, bringing another round of very heavy rains and flash flooding to South Central Texas on the morning of July 2. Although the rain diminished that afternoon, it returned again in the evening and continued into the early morning of July 3. Once again, rainfall diminished in the late afternoon, only to redevelop again on the night of July 3. This activity continued through the morning of July 4. One more time, the storms diminished in the late afternoon of July 4, then redeveloped after midnight. The last large scale wave of showers and thunderstorms formed across the area on Friday, July 5, and continued into the early afternoon. By the evening of Friday, July 5, the upper level low pressure system that initiated this event had moved northwestward out of South Central Texas and the event came to an end.

During this event, the heaviest rains fell to the north through west of San Antonio, with accumulations between 40 and 45 inches over parts of the Texas Hill Country. Rivers crested at record levels from the Hill Country to the west of the I-35 corridor. Many people compared this to the devastating October Flood of 1998, in which near 30 to 32 inches of rain fell along and east of the I-35 corridor. However, that event occurred in a much shorter time period, was far flashier in its nature, and set most its records on rivers along and east of the I-35 corridor and the wettest 24 hour and monthly rainfall for San Antonio. Also, the loss of life in this flood event was much lower than the 1998 event, in spite of much higher rain accumulations over the flashier terrain of the Texas Hill Country.

Two historic events occurred during this flood. For the first time ever, water threatened to top Medina Dam. Medina Lake reached its highest point Friday evening at 1082 feet, some 10.4 feet over the spillway and within 18 inches of the top of the dam. The second historic event occurred when, for the first time ever, water flowed over the spillway of Canyon Dam. Water began going over the spillway on Thursday afternoon, July 4. The highest level reached at Canyon Lake was 950.32 feet, with flow going over the spillway at 69,300 cfs.

Total damage in this flood event in South Central Texas was estimated at $250 million.

Rains returned in Mid July 2002 and then diminished after July 17th, as more stable conditions emerged around the 18th to the 20th. In wake of the wet and soggy first 10 days of July 2002, a day of more stable weather came on Thursday July 11th. This however did not last long, as a new period of wetter weather returned July 12th to July 17th.

On Friday, July 12th, a large low pressure system settled over the southern Great Plains, and around the low, with weather disturbances heading toward Central Texas from the northwest. This destabilized conditions over parts of the Hill Country Friday afternoon the 12th. The thunderstorms continued into the evening hours over northern parts of the Hill Country and extended east to parts of Williamson County, producing locally heavy rain and gusty winds. The next day on Saturday July 13th, another weather disturbance moved in from the northwest, and came a little further south, bringing scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms to the Texas Hill Country and adjacent parts of South Central Texas on Saturday afternoon and evening of July 13th. The rains settled down the night of the 13th, and then returned again during the late morning of Sunday, July 14th. Showers and thunderstorms continued across South Central Texas with heavy rains through the evening hours of the 14th. After the 14th, the rain activity began to slowly diminish, however widely scattered showers and thunderstorms continued over the west part of the area through the 17th.

Late July and August

After the widespread rains, late July daytime highs were more moderated from June. When August came, Austin or San Antonio had neither had a 100 degree day. Del Rio all ready reach 100 earlier on April 29th. For Austin and San Antonio, it was unusual to go into late August without reaching 100 degrees. There were years that it had happened; however, it was not common. Finally in the late part of August 100 degree days came to Austin and San Antonio.

For the 3rd year in a row, the Fall of 2002 was wetter than normal over South Central Texas, like the Fall of 2000 and Fall of 2001. A series of many Autumn Rain Events affected the area. The rains became heavier and more widespread in October. The tone was set in early September, as Tropical Strom Fay affected the area. The rainy Autumn period lasted through the first 4 days of November. It tried to emerge again briefly late in November and early to Mid December.

Tropical Storm Fay in September

Tropical storm Fay came ashore near Palacios, near 6 am CST on Saturday, Sept. 7. Rainfall, at first spotty, became widespread by mid morning, with general half-inch to 1 inch rains over South Central Texas. Isolated totals from Bandera to San Antonio to Uvalde were near 6 inches. Flash flooding over Bandera, Bexar, Medina, and Uvalde Counties continued through the afternoon. By evening, the remnants of Fay had moved to near Dilley, and storms stretched from the Rio Grande River near Del Rio and Eagle Pass eastward to Giddings, Schulenburg and Hallettsville, eventually moving into the eastern Hill Country. Isolated totals to 5 inches were reported, with flash flooding through the evening. Showers reformed near midnight from Hallettsville to San Antonio, spreading northwestward. Some areas received up to 4 inches, and with soils already saturated, flash flooding redeveloped quickly area-wide, ending late Sunday morning.

By Sunday afternoon, rainfall had redeveloped across nearly all of South Central Texas, with a band of heavy rain stretching from San Antonio through Floresville to Karnes City. Through the afternoon, rain amounts averaged near 2 inches with isolated totals to near 9 inches. That evening, the heavy rain was concentrated from Hondo south to Pearsall and Pleasanton. Rain totals averaged near 2 inches, with isolated 8 inch amounts from Frio Town to Charlotte. The resulting flash flooding continued just past sunrise Monday morning.

Early Monday morning, September 9, as the remnants of Fay moved into northern Webb County, showers reformed over central areas of South Central Texas, and spread southeastward. Due to the saturated nature of area soils, as little as 1 to 2 inches of rain was sufficient to redevelop brief flash flooding through the morning from San Antonio eastward to Gonzales and southeast to Karnes City.

Ahead of a strong weather system, another rain event came to the area on September 19th, ahead of a strong upper air disturbance and cool front. Locally heavy rains accompanied the thunderstorms on Thursday the 19th. Skies cleared out from late afternoon to the night of the 19th, and a clear day for Friday September 20th followed. A multiple series of rain and severe weather events affected the area in October.

The Early October Flood Event

An Autumn rain event developed in early October. On Sunday, October 6, an area of thunderstorms produced heavy rain over the Edwards Plateau and the Hill Country. On Monday, October 7, the storms spread southeastward to cover the rest of South Central Texas. By that evening, some locations had received as much as 7 inches. On the following morning, heavy rain developed from the Hill Country eastward through the Greater Austin Area. That afternoon the storms spread again across the eastern part of South Central Texas. On the next day, Wednesday, October 9, a new wave of showers and thunderstorms moved across area from the west and northwest. By late afternoon of October 9, conditions had stabilized and the last wave of showers and thunderstorms began to dissipate, as weak subsidence began to finally take hold with the weather system aloft having moved east of the area. Rainfall amounts from October 6 to October 9 ranged from near 1 inch to around 9 inches. Reports of 2 to 4 inch totals were common. Flash flooding in this event was made more extensive and more severe than might otherwise have been expected. This was due to the fact that the soils had become deeply saturated in the September rainfall and had never dried out.

The Late October Flood Event

An upper level weather system moved near South Central Texas on October 22 and began to produce widespread thunderstorms during the early morning hours of Wednesday, October 23. Flooding and flash flooding developed between San Antonio and Seguin during the early morning hours. That evening, rainfall reformed over the Edwards Plateau area and spread slowly eastward across the all of South Central Texas through the morning. Once again, soils had not had sufficient time to dry out since the previous heavy rainfall in early October. And, although rain amounts were not extremely high, the saturated soils greatly magnified the runoff and flooding problems. By noon on October 24, the most significant rainfall had ended. During this late October event, general one to two inch rainfall was reported over South Central Texas, with many locations reporting to up 7 inches. The last part of this October rain event was actually enhanced by mid and upper level moisture from the remnants of Pacific Hurricane Kenna. Kenna, the third strongest known hurricane to make landfall on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, had moved onshore near San Blas on October 25, after weakening from a Category Five to a Category Four Hurricane.

The Early November Flood Event

On Monday November 4, a cold rain began falling over South Central Texas. Generally less than an inch fell west of I-35, but along and east of I-35, averages were near one half inch with widespread reports of up to 4 inches. Again, soils remained deeply saturated due to previous September and October rainfall. As a result flooding and flash flooding problems were far more widespread than normally would have been expected, because of the saturated soils.

Early to Mid December Rain Events

On Sunday December 8th, occasional rain and fog prevailed over South Central Texas in the afternoon. Late Sunday night the 8th through the morning hours of Monday December 9th, a round of rain from showers and thunderstorms formed over Central and South Central Texas. The heaviest rains in this event fell mainly over the eastern half of South Central Texas, with some reports of 2 to 3 inch rains in the Austin Area.

On December 30th, tornadic supercell thunderstorms formed along the I-35 corridor from south of San Antonio to north of Austin. The first tornado, an F0 on the Fujita Scale, was reported near Helotes, just northwest of San Antonio at 237 pm. A second tornado, also an F0, touched down just east of San Marcos near the Caldwell County line just before 330 pm. A third F0 tornado was filmed by a chase team close to FM142 west of Lockhart near 410 pm. Following this tornado, the severe thunderstorms began producing hail between the size of a nickel and a golfball until nearly 500 pm. The fourth, and final, tornado, an F1, struck southwest of LaGrange, destroying a barn and a large shed. The year ended with clear skies on the 31st. Overall 2002 was warmer than normal for most