Texas Flash Flood Tragedy

Bill1 Comment

In spite of what some irresponsible newscasters are reporting, along with some political figures, the tragedy of the flash floods in Texas was not due to budget cuts, nor was it due to lack of staffing at The Weather Forecast Office (WFO) for Austin/San Antonio. The cuts were not in place and there were more people on duty than normal at the WFO during the event.

The first notification from the WFO was issued 12 hours in advance of the first warnings. Timely notifications also followed. The flood watch that was issued at 1:18 PM CDT on July 3, 2025, appears below:

038 
WGUS64 KEWX 031818
FFAEWX

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Flood Watch
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
118 PM CDT Thu Jul 3 2025

TXZ183>187-202>204-041200-
/O.NEW.KEWX.FA.A.0003.250703T1818Z-250704T1200Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Val Verde-Edwards-Real-Kerr-Bandera-Kinney-Uvalde-Medina-
Including the cities of Del Rio, Leakey, Brackettville,
Kerrville, Bandera, Hondo, Uvalde, and Rocksprings
118 PM CDT Thu Jul 3 2025

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...

* WHAT...Locally heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding across portions of South Central Texas. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated amounts of 5 to 7 inches are possible.

* WHERE...A portion of south central Texas, including the following counties, Bandera, Edwards, Kerr, Kinney, Medina, Real, Uvalde and Val Verde.

* WHEN...Through Friday morning.

* IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
  - A moist tropical airmass combined with a slow moving storm system will bring rounds of scattered to widespread showers and storms with heavy rain rates possible.
  - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.

&&

$$

TRAN

June 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment
Not weather-related. I just wanted to include our newest pack member, Toliver.

June was 2.1 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 95 deg. F recorded on June 24. The low for the month was 36 deg F, recorded on June 2. There were 51 heating degree days and 206 cooling degree days.

June was an above normal month for precipitation with 5.81 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 1.72 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.43 inches recorded on June 14. There were 14 days of rain >.01 in, 10 >.10 in, and 1 > 1 in.

High wind speed of 35 mph on June 18.

June 2025 Data

Summary of Spring 2025

Bill1 Comment

Meteorological Spring is officially over. Here is a brief summary of March 1 – May 31, 2025, in Stormstown, PA:

Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 1
Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 22
Max T: 85.0 F – April 29, 2025
Min T: 14.1 F – March 2, 2025

Mar Dep from Normal: 6.5 F
Apr Dep from Normal: 2.4 F
May Dep from Normal: -1.3 F

Heating Degree Days: 1339
Cooling Degree Days: 79

Mar Precip: 1.17″, 0.02″ below normal
Apr Precip: 4.08″, 0.57″ above normal
May Precip: 8.25″, 4.61″ above normal

May 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

May was 1.3 deg F below normal for temperature. The high for the month was 78.7 F, recorded on May 12. The low for the month was 36.9 F, recorded on May 26. There were zero days at or below 32 F. There were 238 heating degree days and 36 cooling degree days.

May was an above-normal month for precipitation with 8.25 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 4.61 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.37 inches recorded on May 13. There were 18 days of rain >.01 in, 14 >.10 in, and 2 > 1 in.

The high wind speed for the month was 34 mph on May 23.

May 2025 Data

Terrier Update: May 2025

Bill1 Comment

We have four dogs now. Sadly, one of our Scotties passed away on April 25, 2025.

Toby 2015 – 2025

This was Toby, our male Scottish Terrier. He was a bit of a kleptomaniac since he liked to steal shoes, gloves, etc., just to be chased. His other pastime was barking at rabbits and catching sunbeams. He also loved belly rubs, but his dislikes were thunder, fireworks, and going to the vet. His Gotcha Day was October 15, 2015.

This is Tillie, a 10-year-old female Scottish Terrier, and she was Toby’s sister. She is the spokesdog of the pack, and will remind us when it’s mealtime, when to put on their lighted collars, and when the other dogs are getting in trouble. She also serves as my alarm clock in the morning. One of her pastimes is chasing rabbits. Tillie’s Gotcha Day was October 15, 2015.

This is Trixie, our female 8-year-old West Highland Terrier. She likes to play tug-of-war and soccer with me. She has the best wigglebutt around and is quite happy most of the time. Right now, she is dealing with being the middle child. Her Gotcha Day was March 3, 2017.

Tripper is now 7 years old, and he has grown up a great deal. He is larger and heavier than his sister, Trixie, but he is still a puppy at heart. He is not a morning dog and is a bit grumpy when he gets up. Even so, his mood remains mercurial but less so as time passes. He loves his ball, chasing it when I kick it, and grabbing my pants leg. His gotcha day was August 17, 2018.

Our youngest member of the pack is Trisha, a female Scottish Terrier. She was rescued from a puppy mill in Ohio, and her gotcha day was December 16, 2021. Her age was not known until we discovered that she already had an ID chip. The chip was scanned, and we found out her birthdate is 12/21/2018. She plays with every toy she encounters, especially if they squeak. She was shy around strangers but has come out of her shell and looks for adventure. She is mischievous, playful, and very active.

After Toby passed, we decided to apply for another rescue Scottish Terrier.

He will be picked up in western Ohio later this month. Following our ‘T’ naming convention, we plan to name him Tinsel. Our hope is that Tinsel will easily integrate with our pack.

April 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

April was 2.4 F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 85.0 F, recorded on April 29. The low for the month was 19.4 F, recorded on April 9. There were 5 days at or below 32 F. There were 434 heating degree days and 37 cooling degree days.

April was an above-normal month for precipitation with 4.08 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.57 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.84 inches recorded on April 5. There were 15 days of rain >.01 in, 10 >.10 in, and 0 > 1 in.

There was a trace of snow in April.

High wind speed of 49 mph on April 29.

A severe thunderstorm occurred on April 29, critically damaging trees, utility poles, and power lines. Power was out from April 29 at 6:43 PM until May 3 at 2:21 AM. No data was lost for April, but a few hours on May 2-3 were lost due to battery failure of the data logger.

The State College National Weather Service Office has classified the storm as a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) due to its long and wide path.

April 2025 Data

March 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

March was 6.5 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 74.8 deg. F, recorded on March 30. The low for the month was 14.1 deg F, recorded on March 2. There was 1 day where the maximum temperature was at or below 32 F, and there were 17 days where the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 667 heating degree days and 6 cooling degree days.

March was a below-normal month for precipitation with 2.21 inches of rainfall recorded, 1.17 inches below normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 1.38 inches recorded on March 5. There were 6 days of rain >.01 in, 3 >.10 in, and 1 > 1 in. There was 0.3″ of snow accumulation.

The highest recorded wind speed of 46 mph on March 16. However, a possible microburst on that date damaged the wind sensors and the mast they were mounted on. Wind data was unavailable for 5 days until the mast was repaired and the sensors were replaced. It is possible that the wind speed was higher. See the blog post.

March 2025 Data

March 2025 Microburst and Mast Repair

Bill2 Comments

On Sunday, March 16, 2025, at 2:30 PM, a line of severe thunderstorms passed through our area. A high wind of 46 mph ripped out the guy lines of my weather mast and bent it over by 45 degrees. The State College NWS Office (CTP) reported microbursts in the area so it is possible that the wind speeds were higher. More information about the storm:
https://www.weather.gov/ctp/2025-Feb-15to17-Mixed-Precip-High-Winds

Damaged Mast
High Wind Speed Before Instrument Failure

I removed the damaged 16 gauge 10’ mast section (pictured below).

I installed two new 5′ mast sections and a new wind sensor package. The wind direction sensor had been behaving erroneously several weeks before the storm. The mast was hoisted into place and secured to the fence post with new hose clamps. The wind sensor cable was plugged into the weather station transmitter and secured with cable ties. The guy lines were then staked to the ground.

Repaired weather mast.

Summary of Winter 2024-2025

Bill2 Comments

Meteorological Winter is officially over. Here is a brief summary of December 1, 2024-February 28, 2025 in Stormstown, PA:

Number of Days Max T <= 32 F: 36  

Number of Days Min T <= 32 F: 81 

Number of Days Min T <= 0 F: 3  

Max T: 61.8 F – December 29, 2024  

Min T: -8.7 F – January 22, 2025

Dec Dep from Normal: 0.0 F  

Jan Dep from Normal: -3.5 F  

Feb Dep from Normal: 0.3 F  

Heating Degree Days: 3289

Cooling Degree Days: 0 

Dec Precip: 2.92″, 0.26″ below normal  

Jan Precip: 1.46″, 1.46″ below normal  

Feb Precip: 2.88″, 0.42″ above normal  

February 2025 Weather Summary

Bill1 Comment

February was 0.3 deg F above normal for temperature. The high for the month was 53.8 deg. F, recorded on February 4. The low for the month was 7.9 deg F, recorded on February 19. There were 10 days when the maximum was at or below 32 F and 24 days when the minimum temperature was at or below 32 F. There were 998 heating degree days and 0 cooling degree days.

February was an above-normal month for precipitation with 1.74 inches of rainfall recorded, which was 0.42 inches above normal. The maximum rainfall in a single day was 0.81 inches recorded on February 16. There were 12 days of rain >.01 in, 7 >.10 in, and 0 > 1 in.

There were 5.4 inches of snow for the month, with a maximum daily total of 1.6 inches on February 16.

High wind speed of 40 mph on February 16.

February 2025 Data

Some of Centre County has been abnormally dry as of February 25.