Spring 2008 Climate Information
Spring 2008 began on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 1248 AM CDT,
and will end on Thursday, June 20th, 2008 at 659 PM CDT,
when the Summer 2008 officially begins.
Average Spring Climate Information for the latest 30 Year Normals from
1971 to 2000 is listed below for Austin, Del Rio, and San Antonio.
The information for extremes includes information from the beginning
of climate record.
Austin/Mabry
| Month
| High
| Low
| All time High
| All time Low
| Average Rainfall
| All Time
Driest
| All Time
Wettest
|
|
March |
72.5 |
50.9 |
98 |
18 |
2.14 |
0 |
7.23 |
| April |
78.9 |
57.6 |
99 |
30 |
2.51 |
T |
19.82 |
| May |
84.8 |
65.4 |
104 |
40 |
5.03 |
T |
14.10 |
| June |
90.9 |
71.1 |
108 |
51 |
3.81 |
0 |
14.96 |
Austin/Bergstrom
|
Month
| High
| Low
| All time High
| All time Low
| Average Rainfall
| All Time
Driest
| All Time
Wettest
|
| March |
73.5 |
51.7 |
98 |
17 |
2.36 |
0.05 |
6.52 |
| April |
79.6 |
58.1 |
99 |
31 |
2.63 |
0.03 |
12.18 |
| May |
85.2 |
65.9 |
102 |
42 |
5.12 |
0.28 |
13.69 |
| June |
91.1 |
71.8 |
109 |
56 |
3.42 |
T |
15.59 |
Del Rio
| Month
| High
| Low
| All time High
| All time Low
| Average Rainfall
| All Time
Driest
| All Time
Wettest
|
| March |
76.0 |
51.6 |
103 |
19 |
0.96 |
T |
3.20 |
| April |
82.7 |
58.5 |
106 |
33 |
1.71 |
T |
7.51 |
| May |
88.7 |
66.7 |
109 |
45 |
2.31 |
0.03 |
10.23 |
| June |
93.7 |
72.1 |
112 |
49 |
2.34 |
T |
13.71 |
San Antonio
| Month
| High
| Low
| All time High
| All time Low
| Average Rainfall
| All Time Driest
| All Time
Wettest
|
| March |
74.3 |
49.9 |
100 |
19 |
1.89 |
T |
6.12 |
| April |
80.4 |
56.9 |
101 |
31 |
2.60 |
T |
11.64 |
| May |
86.0 |
65.5 |
104 |
43 |
4.72 |
0.17 |
14.07 |
| June |
91.4 |
71.6 |
107 |
48 |
4.30 |
T |
11.95 |
Even though the average date of the last freeze is in late February
to the middle part of March, strong cold outbreaks have brought
freezes to the area in late March to the middle part of April.
A widespread freeze came to the Hill Country and South Central Texas
on April 3, 1987.
A few cold outbreaks in April have brought lots of clouds and left
daytime highs in the 40s. This occurred at Austin, Del Rio and
San Antonio in 1928, after very warm weather in late March of 1928.
Just a year ago, in April of 2007, a cold precipitation event on
April 7th to the early morning hours of April 8th of 2007 brought
cold rain and a mix of freezing rain and sleet to the area.
Afternoon temperatures on April 7th, 2007 fell into the low and
mid 30s, 30 to 35 degrees colder than on Friday, April 6th. Light
rain began to fall through the cold air and then changed to sleet
at many locations along and north of a line from Del Rio to
San Antonio to San Marcos, Austin and Georgetown, including the
Texas Hill Country in the afternoon and evening of April 7th.
Light snow was observed in Llano and Burnet Counties and extended
east to parts of Williamson and Travis Counties. Some areas
received measurable snow amounts, notably 10 miles northwest of
Llano and over parts of Burnet and Williamson Counties. Snow
flurries were observed in the Austin Area. Austin Bergstrom
International Airport reported a trace of snow on April 7, 2007.
Cold rain fell mainly south of Highway 90 from near Del Rio to south
of San Antonio, and also southeast of Interstae 35.
On the other side of extremes, some spring days had highs near and
above 100. In recent history, a record breaking heat wave came on
the last few days of May 2004. Highs on May 31st, 2004 reached 107
at Del Rio, 104 at San Antonio, 100 at Austin Mabry and 99 at
Austin Bergstrom. The average date of the first 90 degree day
at Austin Mabry and Austin Bergstrom is April 19th; at Del Rio on
March 21st; and at San Antonio on April 9th. Although the average first
100 degree day comes to the area from late May to early July, in
some years the first 100 degree day came as early as February 21st
to March.
Some large scale severe spring weather events since 1997
included the Jarrell Tornado and severe weather event on
May 27, 1997, a severe weather and tornado event over the
Northern Texas Hill Country May 11, 1999, a severe weather event
May 6, 2001, a severe weather and flood event April 4, 2004, a
severe weather event April 20, 2006, and the Eagle Pass Tornado
and severe weather event on Tuesday April 24, 2007 to the early
morning hours of Wednesday April 25, 2007.
The following information is a summary of a few of the major
tornado events from the past.
On May 4, 1922, 2 Tornadoes occurred in Austin, as they moved across
the area from northeast to southwest about 3 miles apart. In this
tornado event, there were 12 fatalities in the Austin Area, 50 injured,
and a half a million dollars in damage.
In April of 1927 an F5 tornado struck Rocksprings, destroying most of the
town. The tornado was over 1 mile wide, and it caused 72 fatalities
in Rocksprings and 2 in Leakey. From the late winter to spring of 1973
a stormy period prevailed, associated with the 1972/1973 El Nino.
On March 10, 1973, the Burnet tornado damaged or destroyed
40 businesses and 161 homes in Burnet. Stormy weather on April 15, 1973
brought an F4 tornado to Pearsall, killing 5 persons, as it
crossed Interstate 35. Another tornado, rated F2, cut across
Medina the same day.
On May 27, 1997, a deadly F5 Tornado struck Jarrell, in Williamson County,
where 27 fatalities occurred. Tornadoes also affected parts of
Austin and west of Austin. In this severe weather event an F4
Tornado struck Pedernales Valley and an F3 Tornado struck Cedar Park.
Other tornadoes in the area included 2 F2 Tornadoes and 5 F1/F0
Tornadoes, plus 1 waterspout. In addition, 17 severe hail
reports were observed, 9 downbursts, and 7 flash flood
events. As the thunderstorms moved southwest to the San
Antonio area, in the evening hours of May 27, a wind gust
of 122 mph was observed at Kelly AFB in southwest San Antonio
from a thunderstorm.
Two years later, on May 11th, 1999 another severe weather event
brought tornadoes to the area. Tornadoes were observed in parts of
Llano and Gillespie Counties.
An F3 Tornado struck in western Gillespie County and
an F4 Tornado occurred in eastern Mason County.
On the evening of Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
a tornado touched down in the Eagle Pass Area.
As the spring storm system moved to West Texas in the afternoon
of the 24th, a widespread severe weather event developed rapidly just south
of Del Rio and west to northwest of Eagle Pass, near the
Rio Grande. The storms then moved east, as a
line of thunderstorms across
South Central Texas Tuesday evening to the predawn hours of
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007. On the evening of Tuesday the 24th,
a devastating tornado struck Eagle Pass at 701 pm. The tornado was
rated EF-3 on the enhanced Fujita Scale, had a path width of one-quarter
mile and a path length near one mile long. These devastating
severe, tornadic thunderstorms in the Eagle Pass area caused
7 Fatalities, more than 80 Injuries, and numerous property damage to
homes, businesses and an elementary school in the Eagle Pass Area.
The severe thunderstorms then proceeded to move across the rest of
South Central Texas from 8 pm, April 24th through 6 am, Wednesday
April 25th, 2007. Damaging winds and hail was reported in Maverick, Dimmit,
Zavala, Medina, Bexar, Atascosa, Wilson, Guadalupe, Caldwell, Gonzales,
Bastrop, Fayette, and Lavaca Counties.
A few noteworthy floods have also come during the Spring.
A widespread flood came to the area in April of 1915, when
devastating and deadly floods affected South Central Texas.
A flood at Austin, Texas left 35 fatalities in April of 1915. On
April 23, 1915, the Austin City climate location recorded 10
inches of rain. Heavy rain followed on the 25th and 26th, with
6.05 inches of additional rain. April 1915 ended with 19.82
inches of rain at Austin, the 2nd wettest all time month for
Austin, after September of 1921. Also in April of 1915, heavy
rains and floods left 6.78 inches at San Antonio on April 18th.
April 1915 ended up the wettest April on record for San Antonio,
with 11.64 inches of rain.
A few additional spring flood events are summarized
below.
In 1935 a prolonged period of severe weather and floods came
in May and June. Heavy rains and floods were observed from
Del Rio and extended east across the Texas Hill Country,
Austin, and San Antonio. At Austin 9.21 inches of rain
fell in May and another 9.21 inches in June of 1935.
For Del Rio May of 1935 brought 4.89 inches of
rain, and 13.71 inches of additional rain in June of 1935.
On May 31, 1935 very heavy rains near D' Hanis in Medina
County left 22 to 24 inches of rain in only
2 hours and 45 minutes.
The heaviest rains occurred at Woodward Ranch about 17 miles above
D' Hanis on the Seco Creek, where extensive flooding occurred.
Rains in Uvalde on June 15, 1935 amounted to
12.5 inches in 12 hours and 17.6 inches in 24 hours.
At San Antonio, May of 1935 was the wettest May of
record from 1871 to 2007, with 14.07 inches of rain,
followed by 8.41 inches in June of 1935.
In 1972 on May 11th, heavy rains fell over eastern Comal County
between 8 pm and Midnight. This caused a devastating flood on
the Guadalupe River at New Braunfels the night of May 11 and
May 12, 1972. Sixteen and a half inches
of rain was observed between Canyon Dam and New Braunfels on
the Guadalupe river watershed. Widespread damage to
homes and businesses occurred as the flood wave moved
downstream through Lake Dunlap and Lake McQueeney.
In 1981 on Monday, May 24th the Memorial Day Flood came to Austin,
when 4 to 10 inches of rain fell in a short period of time.
On May 7, 1972 and May 5, 1993, a heavy rain and flood event
affected San Antonio. On May 27, 2003, a heavy rain and flood
event came to Del Rio, where 6.53 inches of rain fell.
Like May and June of 1935, an extended period of heavy rains
and flooding affected
South Central Texas from May 13 to June 12, 1987.
Widespread flooding over the Texas Hill Country and
South Central Texas occurred.
Twenty years later in the Spring of 2007, several heavy rain
events came to South Central Texas, and this rainy period
continued through June, July and August of 2007.
Some Springs in the past have been very dry. A few notable ones
in recent history include the Spring of 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003,
2005, and 2006. The wettest and driest Springs of record
can be found by Clicking here to See
the 5 Driest and 5 Wettest March to May and June to April
Periods from the Past.
A trend toward windy days in wake of fast moving Pacific Cold
Fronts began in Mid December of 2007 and has continued so far
this year. An example in the past of one widespread and
windy Spring weather event came in 1983. On Friday, April 1st, 1983,
very windy conditions came, as a fast moving Pacific Cold Front
swept across the area. This brought large amounts of dust from
the west and northwest, with storng northwest winds that gusted
to between 45 and 55 mph. An isolated wind gust of 65 mph was
observed at Del Rio on Friday April 1st, 1983.
To view the sunrise and sunset for a
specific date and location,
See Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day from the U.S. Naval Observatory.
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