PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 1122 AM CST FRI JAN 2 2009 ...2008 WARMER THAN NORMAL... ...TROPICAL ACTIVITY ABOVE AVERAGE FOR THE NORTHWEST GULF COAST... 2008 HAS COME TO A CLOSE AND THERE WERE SOME RATHER MEMORABLE WEATHER EVENTS INCLUDING FOUR TROPICAL SYSTEMS AFFECTING THE WEST AND NORTHWEST GULF COAST...AN ACTIVE SEA BREEZE OVER HARRIS COUNTY IN JUNE AND SOME DECEMBER SNOW. HURRICANE IKE IS PROBABLY ONE WEATHER EVENT MANY WOULD PROBABLY LIKE TO FORGET. THE YEAR ENDED WARMER THAN NORMAL FOR MANY OF THE CLIMATE SITES ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE 1 TO 2 DEGREES WARMER THAN NORMAL. RAINFALL VARIED ACROSS THE REGION WITH THE HEAVIER TOTALS ALONG THE COAST. SEVERE WEATHER WAS LESS FREQUENT THAN PREVIOUS YEARS WHILE TROPICAL ACTIVITY INCREASED. BELOW IS A BRIEF NARRATIVE RECAP OF THE LAST 12 MONTHS. ...JANUARY... TEMPERATURES WERE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY COOLER THAN NORMAL WHILE RAINFALL TOTALS WERE ABOVE NORMAL NEAR THE COAST AND BELOW NORMAL INLAND. A SERIES OF COASTAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS BROUGHT CLOUDS AND RAINFALL TO COASTAL SECTIONS WHILE INLAND AREAS RECEIVED CONSIDERABLY LESS RAIN. THE ONLY HAZARDOUS WEATHER IN THE MONTH OCCURRED ON THE 31ST WITH SOME LARGE HAIL IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY AND SOME MINOR WIND DAMAGE IN HARRIS COUNTY. ...FEBRUARY... TEMPERATURES WERE WELL ABOVE NORMAL IN FEBRUARY...AVERAGING 3 TO 5 DEGREES WARMER THAN NORMAL. RAINFALL VARIED ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS WITH COASTAL LOCATIONS BEING SLIGHTLY DRIER THAN NORMAL. SEVERE WEATHER WAS REPORTED ON THE 16TH WITH LARGE HAIL REPORTED IN HOUSTON COUNTY. WIND DAMAGE WAS REPORTED FROM WALKER COUNTY THROUGH HARRIS COUNTY AND INTO GALVESTON COUNTY ...MARCH... MARCH WAS WARMER THAN NORMAL WITH TEMPERATURES AVERAGING BETWEEN 1 AND 2 DEGREES WARMER THAN NORMAL. RAINFALL WAS GENERALLY AROUND AN INCH LESS THAN WHAT IS EXPECTED. SEVERAL SEVERE WEATHER EPISODES OCCURRED IN MARCH. GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL FELL IN WHARTON ON THE 6TH AND STRONG WINDS AND NICKEL SIZE HAIL FELL IN GALVESTON ON THE 10TH. LARGE HAIL ALSO OCCURRED IN BELLVILLE ON THE 18TH. ...APRIL... THE MONTH WAS AROUND A DEGREE WARMER THAN NORMAL AND RAINFALL WAS AROUND AN INCH LESS THAN NORMAL. ON THE 4TH...A CLUSTER OF STORMS BROUGHT LARGE HAIL TO BRAZOS...BURLESON...GRIMES AND LIBERTY COUNTIES. STRONG WINDS KNOCKED DOWN A BARN NEAR EL CAMPO AND TOPPLED TREES IN PASADENA ON THE 18TH. ...MAY... TEMPERATURES WERE WELL ABOVE NORMAL IN MAY...AVERAGING 1 TO 3 DEGREES WARMER THAN NORMAL. AS IS TYPICALLY THE CASE...WHEN TEMPERATURES ARE WARMER THAN NORMAL...RAINFALL WILL BE LESS THAN NORMAL. MAY RAINFALL WAS 1 TO 3 INCHES DRIER THAN NORMAL. DESPITE LOWER RAINFALL TOTALS...THERE WERE SEVERAL EPISODES OF SEVERE WEATHER INCLUDING STRONG WINDS OVER MADISON...TRINITY...HOUSTON... BRAZOS...WALKER AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES ON THE 14TH-15TH. THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG WINDS ALSO AFFECTED MONTGOMERY AND WALKER COUNTIES ON THE 27TH. ...JUNE... JUNE WAS ALSO QUITE A BIT WARMER THAN NORMAL WITH TEMPERATURES AVERAGING 2 TO 3 DEGREES WARMER THAN TYPICALLY EXPECTED. JUNE WAS VERY DRY WITH RAINFALL TOTALS 3 TO 4 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. DESPITE THE LACK OF ORGANIZED RAINFALL...A COLLISION OF OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES AND SEA BREEZE CIRCULATIONS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON PRODUCED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER HARRIS...MONTGOMERY...FORT BEND AND WHARTON COUNTIES ON THE 17TH...18TH...19TH AND 20TH. DURING THIS MULTIPLE DAY OUTBREAK...THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED PING PONG BALL SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS EXCEEDING 60 MPH. ...JULY... HAVE YOU NOTICED A TREND YET? TEMPERATURES WERE AGAIN ABOVE NORMAL. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES IN JULY WERE ABOUT A DEGREE WARMER THAN NORMAL. RAINFALL TOTALS WERE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL. HURRICANE DOLLY MADE LANDFALL IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS ON THE 23RD BUT IMPACTS ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST WERE MINIMAL. OTHER THAN A FEW FUNNEL CLOUDS IN MATAGORDA AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES ON THE 23RD...THERE WERE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER REPORTS. ...AUGUST... AUGUST TEMPERATURES WERE GENERALLY NEAR NORMAL VALUES. BUT WHILE TEMPERATURES WERE RETURNING TO NORMAL LEVELS...THE TROPICS BEGAN HEATING UP. TROPICAL STORM EDOUARD MADE LANDFALL ON AUGUST 5TH. EDOUARD BROUGHT SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...MAINLY OVER PARTS OF CHAMBERS...EASTERN HARRIS AND LIBERTY COUNTIES. RAINFALL IN AUGUST WAS ABOVE NORMAL FOR ALL BUT THE SOUTHWESTERN PORTION OF THE AREA. MANY LOCATIONS RECEIVED RAINFALL 2 TO 3 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. IN ADDITION TO TROPICAL STORM EDOUARD...THERE WAS ANOTHER CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS ON THE 16TH THAT ALSO BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN. ...SEPTEMBER... HURRICANE IKE BROUGHT A DESTRUCTIVE STORM SURGE...STRONG WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN TO SOUTHEAST TEXAS. IKE MADE LANDFALL ON GALVESTON ISLAND AT 210 AM CDT ON SEPTEMBER 13TH. TEMPERATURES IN THE WAKE OF IKE WERE ACTUALLY QUITE COOL AND THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 1 TO 2 DEGREES COOLER THAN NORMAL. THE AREA WAS ALSO BRUSHED BY TROPICAL STORM GUSTAV ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND. THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT SOME STRONGER WINDS TO THE EASTERN HALF OF THE REGION. RAINFALL DURING THE MONTH WAS HIGH. THE MONTHLY RAINFALL TALLY AT INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT WAS 12.07 INCHES WHICH IS THE SECOND HIGHEST RAINFALL TOTAL FOR SEPTEMBER. IN ADDITION TO IKE...A COLD FRONT SLAMMED INTO ABUNDANT TROPICAL MOISTURE ON THE 14TH. THIS BROUGHT ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN TO ALREADY WEARY COMMUNITIES. HIGH WINDS ESTIMATED AT 90 MPH PRODUCED WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES. POWER WAS OUT FOR AS LONG AS TEN DAYS IN SOME AREAS. THIS AFFECTED DATA COLLECTION FOR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND SEVERAL CLIMATE SITES WILL NOT HAVE COMPLETE CLIMATE DATA FOR THE MONTH. IKE WAS VERY DESTRUCTIVE WITH PROPERTY DAMAGE ESTIMATES NOW EXCEEDING 17 BILLION DOLLARS. ...OCTOBER... THE MONTH WAS GENERALLY COOLER AND DRIER THAN NORMAL. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE 1 TO 3 DEGREES COOLER THAN NORMAL AND RAINFALL WAS 1 TO 3 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT HAD TWO ISOLATED HEAVY RAIN EVENTS AND FINISHED THE MONTH 4 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. A CLUSTER OF STORMS BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN TO NORTHERN HARRIS COUNTY ON THE 15TH...OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER OCCURRED DURING THE MONTH. A LATE MONTH COLD SNAP BROUGHT FREEZING TEMPERATURES TO THE NORTHEASTERN HALF OF THE REGION. ...NOVEMBER.. TEMPERATURES WERE WARMER THAN NORMAL AGAIN WITH AVERAGE TEMPERATURES 1 TO 2 DEGREES WARMER THAN NORMAL. RAINFALL WAS BELOW NORMAL WITH TOTALS 1 TO 2 INCHES DRIER THAN USUAL. A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN TO PARTS OF GRIMES AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES ON THE 11TH HAZARDOUS WEATHER WAS RATHER LIMITED. ...DECEMBER... DECEMBER TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN UP AND DOWN THROUGH THE MONTH BUT THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WILL FINISH ABOUT A DEGREE OR SO WARMER THAN NORMAL. RAINFALL WAS LESS THAN NORMAL WITH MOST AREAS SUFFERING A 2 INCH RAINFALL DEFICIT. ON DECEMBER 10TH...A STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVED ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT ENOUGH MOISTURE AND COLD AIR TO PRODUCE A SWATH OF SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS VARIED WITH AMOUNTS OVER THE EASTERN PART OF THE REGION AVERAGING 4 TO 6 INCHES...1 TO 2 INCHES CENTRAL AND NORTH AND LESS THAN A HALF INCH OVER THE SOUTHWEST. EVEN COASTAL CITIES SUCH AS GALVESTON RECEIVED AN INCH OF SNOW. AT INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT...SNOW ACCUMULATED TO 1.4 INCHES AND WAS THE EARLIEST ACCUMULATING SNOW OF ONE INCH OR GREATER ON RECORD. ...2008... IN SUMMARY...YEARLY TEMPERATURES WERE SLIGHTLY WARMER THAN NORMAL BUT WERE WITHIN GENERAL TRENDS OF THE LAST DECADE WITH AVERAGE TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO 70 DEGREES. RAINFALL TOTALS VARIED GREATLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS. AREAS WEST AND SOUTHWEST OF TROPICAL STORM EDOUARD AND HURRICANE IKE RECEIVED VERY LITTLE RAIN AND AREAS OF EAST THESE SYSTEMS RECEIVED HEAVY TO EXCESSIVE RAINS. THE DIFFERENCE IN RAINFALL BETWEEN SITES THIS YEAR ARE AS MUCH AS 28 INCHES. HOBBY AIRPORT RECEIVED 56 INCHES OF RAIN IN 2008 WHILE PALACIOS ONLY RECEIVED A BIT OVER 28 INCHES. IN THE LAST 15 YEARS...THERE HAS NOT BEEN SUCH A DISPARITY IN RAINFALL ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS. A LIST OF CO-OP SITES WITH MONTHLY AND YEARLY RAINFALL WILL BE APPENDED TO THIS STATEMENT ONCE THE DATA IS AVAILABLE. BELOW IS A TABLE WITH MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL DATA FOR SEVERAL CLIMATE SITES ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS: HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 62.0 42.4 52.2 +0.4 4.62 +0.94 FEB 72.1 48.0 60.1 +4.7 4.00 +1.02 MAR 75.0 52.1 63.6 +1.3 2.41 -0.95 APR 80.4 58.4 69.4 +0.9 1.46 -2.14 MAY 87.1 68.5 77.8 +2.0 4.57 -0.58 JUN 95.1 74.0 84.5 +3.2 2.06 -3.29 JUL 95.6 74.2 84.9 +1.3 1.09 -2.09 AUG 92.6 75.3 84.0 +0.7 7.45 +3.62 SEP 88.1 68.4 78.2 -0.7 12.07 +7.74 OCT 81.3 57.8 69.5 -0.9 8.67 +4.17 NOV 73.8 51.1 62.4 +1.5 2.92 -1.27 DEC 66.2 45.1 55.6 +1.9 1.68 -2.01 YEARLY 70.2 53.00 COLLEGE STATION MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 60.3 39.5 49.9 -0.3 2.06 -1.26 FEB 71.0 45.4 58.2 +3.7 3.29 +0.91 MAR 73.6 50.9 62.2 +0.6 3.81 +0.97 APR 79.5 57.7 68.6 +0.7 2.74 -0.46 MAY 85.8 67.4 76.6 +1.3 4.30 -0.75 JUN 96.3 74.6 85.4 +3.8 0.29 -3.50 JUL 97.5 73.8 85.6 +1.0 0.41 -1.51 AUG 94.4 75.5 85.0 +0.3 6.69 +4.06 SEP 88.2 67.5 77.8 -1.8 3.47 -0.44 OCT 81.4 56.7 69.0 -1.5 1.73 -2.49 NOV 72.6 49.6 61.1 +1.1 1.35 -1.83 DEC 64.6 40.6 52.6 +0.4 0.80 -2.43 YEARLY 69.3 30.94 HOUSTON HOBBY AIRPORT MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 62.8 45.5 54.2 -0.1 6.55 +2.30 FEB 72.3 51.7 62.0 +4.3 4.01 +1.00 MAR 74.6 55.2 64.9 +0.7 2.96 -0.23 APR 80.7 61.7 71.2 +1.2 1.91 -1.55 MAY 87.6 71.4 79.5 +2.5 0.99 -4.12 JUN 93.5 75.8 84.7 +2.4 8.34 +1.50 JUL 93.0 76.4 84.7 +0.2 4.03 -0.33 AUG 91.4 75.8 83.6 -0.8 8.28 +3.74 SEP 87.7 70.6 79.1 -1.4 10.95 +5.33 OCT 80.8 60.3 70.5 -1.7 2.62 -2.64 NOV 73.9 53.5 63.7 +0.7 4.97 +0.43 DEC 66.9 47.2 57.0 +0.9 0.86 -2.92 YEARLY 71.2 56.47 SUGARLAND MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 62.6 43.2 52.9 -1.2 3.60 -0.36 FEB 72.2 49.2 60.7 +4.7 2.54 -0.58 MAR 75.0 53.8 64.4 +1.4 1.64 -0.85 APR 81.2 59.5 70.4 -0.2 3.05 +0.43 MAY 87.9 69.7 78.8 +1.6 0.55 -3.07 JUN 95.2 74.9 85.0 +3.3 1.89 -3.15 JUL 94.7 73.9 84.3 +1.0 3.26 -1.04 AUG 93.6 75.6 84.6 +1.5 5.46 +0.08 SEP 88.5 68.7 78.6 +1.0 7.77 +4.62 OCT 81.6 57.2 69.4 -2.5 2.96 -1.64 NOV 74.7 51.4 63.0 +1.0 2.43 -1.88 DEC 67.4 46.0 56.7 +3.2 1.51 -1.92 YEARLY 70.7 36.66 HUNTSVILLE MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 59.1 38.9 49.0 +0.2 2.09 -2.19 FEB 69.9 44.1 57.0 +4.0 2.63 -0.51 MAR 73.5 50.7 62.1 +1.6 2.19 -1.28 APR 79.1 57.5 68.3 +1.1 2.73 -0.77 MAY 86.0 66.5 76.3 +1.9 2.07 -3.01 JUN 93.8 73.8 83.8 +3.2 3.00 -1.66 JUL 96.1 73.4 84.7 +1.1 0.76 -1.91 AUG 92.6 74.2 83.4 +0.2 6.32 +2.60 SEP 86.5 64.7 75.6 -2.4 5.28 +0.55 OCT 80.1 54.8 67.4 -1.6 0.73 -3.54 NOV 71.7 48.6 60.2 +1.2 1.30 -3.57 DEC 63.5 40.6 52.1 +0.9 0.52 -3.64 YEARLY 68.3 29.62 CONROE MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 60.6 38.6 49.6 -0.3 3.54 -0.67 FEB 70.9 42.5 56.7 +3.1 3.85 +0.94 MAR 74.3 48.3 61.3 +0.2 2.52 -0.39 APR 79.6 54.6 67.1 -0.2 1.85 -1.99 MAY 86.0 64.6 75.3 +0.7 5.18 -0.44 JUN 93.7 70.7 82.2 +1.4 1.82 -2.76 JUL 95.3 70.6 83.0 -0.5 0.61 -2.63 AUG 92.2 73.1 82.6 -0.7 5.38 +1.68 SEP DATA IS MISSING - HURRICANE IKE OCT 80.4 51.5 66.0 -3.0 2.91 -1.79 NOV 72.0 45.8 58.9 -0.6 5.62 +0.83 DEC 64.5 41.0 52.8 +1.2 1.52 -2.58 YEARLY NA 34.80* ANGLETON MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 62.6 43.7 53.1 -1.1 8.03 +3.27 FEB 71.4 48.2 59.8 +3.5 2.42 -2.34 MAR 73.2 52.6 62.9 +0.2 1.59 -3.17 APR 79.6 58.3 68.9 -0.9 3.31 -0.46 MAY 85.3 69.2 77.2 +0.9 0.22 -4.54 JUN 92.5 74.2 83.3 +2.5 2.35 -2.41 JUL 92.7 72.7 82.7 +1.5 3.63 -0.14 AUG 91.2 74.0 82.6 +0.2 5.95 +1.19 SEP 88.3 67.4 77.9 -1.3 5.05 +0.29 OCT 81.7 55.2 68.5 -3.5 2.06 -2.70 NOV 75.5 50.5 63.0 -0.1 4.44 -0.53 DEC 68.1 45.9 57.0 +2.8 0.58 -4.18 YEARLY 69.7 39.63 PALACIOS MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 62.7 42.9 52.8 -0.1 5.62 +2.44 FEB 70.8 51.0 60.9 +5.1 0.81 -1.64 MAR 72.5 54.4 63.5 +1.4 2.22 -0.48 APR 78.8 61.5 70.2 +1.7 2.52 -0.28 MAY 85.2 72.0 78.6 +2.9 0.16 -4.39 JUN 90.0 78.7 84.3 +3.2 2.37 -1.94 JUL 89.8 77.0 83.4 +0.0 3.43 -0.56 AUG 90.5 77.7 84.1 +1.1 1.68 -1.68 SEP 90.3 68.1 79.2 +0.2 0.85 -5.73 OCT 82.2 58.7 70.4 -0.9 1.82 -3.19 NOV 74.8 53.6 64.2 +2.0 6.14 +2.75 DEC 66.5 46.7 56.6 +1.5 0.74 -2.34 YEARLY 70.7 28.36 PEARLAND MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 63.6 45.6 54.6 -0.2 6.51 +3.49 FEB 72.9 51.6 62.2 +6.2 2.74 -0.08 MAR 75.0 55.6 65.3 +2.5 2.50 +0.35 APR 81.0 61.1 71.1 +1.7 1.57 -1.20 MAY 86.5 70.5 78.5 +2.4 0.48 -3.27 JUN 91.8 74.1 82.9 +1.6 10.06 +2.61 JUL 92.5 74.1 83.3 +0.7 2.34 -2.74 AUG 90.9 74.9 82.9 -0.4 7.72 +2.70 SEP DATA IS MISSING - HURRICANE IKE OCT 80.8 58.1 69.4 -2.4 2.53 -3.01 NOV 73.6 51.1 62.4 -0.6 5.19 -0.38 DEC 66.4 46.4 56.4 +2.7 1.02 -3.89 YEARLY NA 42.66* LEAGUE CITY (HGX) MONTH AVG AVG AVG DEP RAIN DEP HIGH LOW MONTHLY JAN 60.4 44.4 52.4 -1.0 7.11 +1.68 FEB 69.9 49.9 59.9 +3.2 2.99 -0.46 MAR 72.2 53.7 63.0 +1.3 2.32 -1.19 APR 78.1 60.0 69.1 +1.2 2.16 -1.83 MAY 84.9 69.9 77.4 +2.0 1.16 -3.42 JUN 90.5 74.7 82.6 +2.3 4.47 -2.89 JUL 90.6 74.0 82.3 +0.0 4.70 +1.47 AUG 89.3 74.9 82.1 +0.1 7.93 +3.36 SEP 86.1 69.1 77.6 -0.7 13.06 +5.95 OCT 79.5 58.3 68.9 -1.4 1.93 -3.65 NOV 73.3 52.0 62.7 +1.8 5.55 +0.09 DEC 65.4 45.7 55.5 +0.9 0.52 -3.64 YEARLY 69.4 53.90 DUE TO HURRICANE IKE...A SIGNIFICANT DATA GAP OCCURRED AT GALVESTON. THE NWS IS STILL GATHERING DATA FROM A GROUP OF SOURCES AND WILL ADD GALVESTON DATA ONCE THE NEW TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL DATA HAS BEEN FULLY QUALITY CONTROLLED. $$