Reporter-News Archives Monday, March 8, 1999 Rain breaks dry spell By JERRY DANIEL REED Senior Staff Writer A slow, light rainfall most of Sunday afternoon brought a break in a 37-day bone-dry spell, with promise of more moisture to come early this morning. The .29 inch officially measured at the Abilene Regional Airport by 9 p.m. was the first precipitation in the city since Jan. 29, when a record-breaking _ for that date _ 1.82 inches fell. The ensuing dry period bracketed the whole month of February, the third time in city history that not a drop of rainfall was measured in the year's second month. After a long stretch of hotter-and-dryer weather than normal, the arriving work week shapes up as seasonably cool to mild, as well as damp. A slight chance of more rain toward the weekend remains in the extended outlook, according to the National Weather Service. Nearer term, today should turn sunnier during the daylight hours, with a high temperature around 70. After another cool night tonight, Tuesday should turn out sunnier and drier, before another front arrives to bring the possibility of more rain. A power outage caused by a series of cross-arm fires on West Texas Utilities darkened Albany and Moran in Shackelford County, and briefly, the Robertson prison unit, while shutting down pumping equipment serving Phantom Hill and Hubbard Creek lakes,. The cross-arm fires were caused by dust and other debris collecting on insulators during the long dry spell, leading to electric arcing when the insulators got damp, said Linda Caton, West Texas Utilities spokeswoman. Albany was without power for about two hours, and Moran went without twice, once for 35 minutes and later by just over two hours. Among the casualties was the Shackelford County Sheriff's Department, which lost all telephone communication except 911 emergency calls. Fire Department communications also continued to function. No problems were reported to be caused by the interruption of phone service to the sheriff's department. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:  texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local News Texas News Copyright ©1999, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications