Tuesday, March 20, 2001
Spring in swing: New season may bring more
rain
By John Starbuck
Reporter-News Staff Writer
Spring has sprung.
Today is the first day of spring. Not that Monday gave any indication,
what with a high temperature that felt more like a prelude to
fall, followed by a nighttime temperature that danced with the
freezing mark.
Sunny to partly cloudy skies are predicted across the Big Country
today through the weekend. High temperatures are forecast to be
in the 60s today and warming into the 80s by Thursday. A cooling
into the 70s is expected Friday.
Later in the new season, Mother Nature will turn up the heat,
crash around some thunder and throw down a little lightning to
give the Big Country a real taste of springtime.
For almost three years, a weather phenomenon known as La Nina
has influenced the area's weather. La Nina occurs when surface
temperatures of the eastern Pacific Ocean are colder than average,
sparking below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures
in the area.
That weather pattern is starting to fade, which should signal
a return to normal rainfall amounts this spring, National Weather
Service Carl Wright said.
Average rainfall for April is 1.9 inches. That climbs to 2.97
inches in May and 2.86 inches in June. High temperatures are expected
to be in the upper 70s in April, middle 80s in May and lower 90s
in June, when summer takes hold.
So far this year, Abilene has recorded 4.73 inches of rain - almost
2 inches above normal.
Contact regional writer John Starbuck at
676-6728 or starbuckj@abinews.com
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Copyright ©2001,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps. Publications
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