000 NOUS44 KEWX 281542 PNSEWX TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-281630- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX 930 AM CST FRI DEC 28 2007 ...THE TOP TEN WEATHER STORIES OF 2007... (EVENTS ARE LISTED CHRONOLOGICALLY.) 1. SAN MARCOS TORNADO OF JANUARY 13 AN UNUSUAL WINTER TORNADO DEVELOPED IN SAN MARCOS ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 13 AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHED FROM THE NORTH. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS ESTIMATED AT 70 TO 80 MPH FIRST STRUCK ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SAN MARCOS, JUST SOUTH OF THE POLICE HEADQUARTERS. NEXT, A SMALL TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE POLICE HEADQUARTERS AND MOVED TOWARD THE NORTH. AN OFFICER IN HIS VEHICLE AT 7:08 AM CST, ABOUT THE TIME THE TORNADO STRUCK, REPORTED THAT VERY HIGH WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN BEGAN BLOWING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH, THEN ABRUPTLY CHANGED DIRECTION AND BEGAN BLOWING FROM SOUTH TO NORTH, ALONG WITH PENNY-SIZED HAIL. HIS CAR, PARTIALLY SHELTERED BY A BUILDING, WAS BADLY DAMAGED BY THE TORNADO DEBRIS. IN ALL, 35 VEHICLES AT THE POLICE BUILDING SUSTAINED DAMAGE, CONSISTING MAINLY OF DENTS AND GASHES IN CAR BODIES AS WELL AS BROKEN WINDOWS AND WINDSHIELDS. A LARGE AREA OF BRICK WAS EJECTED FROM AN UPPER PORTION OF THE BUILDING'S NORTH WALL. THE DAMAGE APPEARED TO END JUST NORTH OF THE BUILDING, THEN RE-APPEARED ABOUT 200 YARDS FURTHER TO THE NORTH. THIS WAS THOUGHT TO BE A SECOND TOUCHDOWN OF THE SAME TORNADO. AT THE SECOND LOCATION, A LARGE DUMPSTER WAS SPUN ALMOST 360 DEGREES AND SEVERAL TRAILERS WERE SLAMMED INTO EACH OTHER. A SINGLE-WIDE TRAILER WAS TIPPED OVER ON ITS SIDE. WINDOWS AND DOORS AT THE BUILDING WERE BROKEN, WITH SOME BLOWN INWARD AND SOME BLOWN OUTWARD. THE TORNADO WAS RATED AN F1 ON THE FUJITA SCALE, AND AN EF1 ON THE NEW ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. THE TORNADO PATH WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 100 YARDS WIDE AND THREE-TENTHS OF A MILE LONG. 2. ICE STORM OF JANUARY 15 TO 17 COLD AIR POURED INTO SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 13 IN THE WAKE OF A STRONG COLD FRONT. TEMPERATURES CONTINUED TO COOL BEHIND THE FRONT FOR THE FOLLOWING TWO DAYS. BY THE MORNING OF MONDAY, JANUARY 15, TEMPERATURES IN THE NORTHERN HILL COUNTRY HAD FALLEN TO NEAR FREEZING. AT THE SAME TIME, AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE BEGAN TO APPROACH SOUTH TEXAS FROM THE SOUTHWEST. LIGHT PRECIPITATION FROM THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM BEGAN FALLING THROUGH THE COLD AIR ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 15, TURNING TO ICE OVER THE NORTHERN HILL COUNTRY COUNTIES FIRST. BY MID DAY, ICE WAS BEING REPORTED NORTH OF A LINE FROM LLANO TO BURNET TO GEORGETOWN. FREEZING PRECIPITATION CONTINUED TO SPREAD OVER THE WEST AND SOUTHEAST SLOWLY THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. BY EARLY EVENING, ICE WAS REPORTED IN ALL COUNTIES ALONG AND NORTH OF A LEAKEY TO BANDERA TO NEW BRAUNFELS TO LOCKHART TO LAGRANGE LINE. BY SUNRISE ON JANUARY 16, THE ICY CONDITIONS HAD SPREAD SOUTHWARD TO A DEL RIO TO BRACKETTVILLE TO UVALDE TO HONDO TO POTEET TO FLORESVILLE TO GONZALES LINE. THIS INCLUDED THE METROPOLITAN AREAS OF AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO. SPOTTY 1 TO 2 INCH SNOWFALLS WERE COMMON OVER THE HILL COUNTRY AND EDWARDS PLATEAU. ICE COATINGS OF FREEZING RAIN AND DRIZZLE VARIED FROM ONE-HALF INCH TO THREE-QUARTERS OF AN INCH IN THICKNESS IN THE WINTER STORM AREA. MANY SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES IN THE AREA, AS WELL AS PUBLIC OFFICES, WERE ALREADY CLOSED ON JANUARY 15 DUE TO THE MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY AND SIMPLY DID NOT RE-OPEN UNTIL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, OR THURSDAY, JANUARY 18. HUNDREDS OF ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS AS WELL AS CITY AND RURAL ROADS, CAUSING ADDITIONAL CLOSURES AND PROBLEMS. AS THE ICE THICKENED ON JANUARY 16, WHOLE SECTIONS OF IH-35 WERE CLOSED IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS BETWEEN GEORGETOWN, AUSTIN, SAN MARCOS, AND SAN ANTONIO, AND PARTS OF IH-10 WERE CLOSED BOTH NORTH AND NORTHWEST OF SAN ANTONIO. POWER OUTAGES ALSO BECAME A PROBLEM ACROSS MOST OF THE WINTER STORM AREA ON JANUARY 16 AND 17. TENS OF THOUSANDS WERE LEFT WITHOUT POWER FOR SEVERAL HOURS. OF GREAT INTEREST DURING THIS EVENT WAS THE FACT THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WAS PLAYING HOST TO THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. THOUSANDS OF METEOROLOGISTS WERE CAUGHT IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO AS THE STORM STRUCK, BUT CONTINUED THEIR MEETINGS WITHOUT HALT. THIS WAS EVEN MORE INTERESTING SINCE THE LAST TIME THIS CONFERENCE WAS HELD IN SAN ANTONIO WAS 25 YEARS EARLIER, IN 1982, AND THAT CONFERENCE WAS ALSO STRUCK WITH A WINTER STORM. 3. COLD AND SNOWY EASTER WEEKEND OF APRIL 7 AND 8 IN THE WAKE OF A STRONG COLD FRONT DROPPING SOUTHWARD ACROSS TEXAS ON EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 7, AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES FELL RAPIDLY INTO THE LOWER AND MID 30S. THESE VALUES WERE 30 TO 35 DEGREES BELOW THOSE OF SATURDAY, APRIL 6. LIGHT RAIN BEGAN TO FALL THROUGH THIS FRIGID AIR, CHANGING TO SLEET IN 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. LIGHT SNOW WAS OBSERVED IN LLANO AND BURNET COUNTIES AND EXTENDED EAST INTO 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, AND AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, REPORTED A TRACE OF SNOW. FURTHER TO THE SOUTH, MAINLY SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 90 NEAR DEL RIO TO SOUTH OF SAN ANTONIO AND SOUTHEAST OF IH-35, ONLY A COLD RAIN FELL. 4. EAGLE PASS TORNADO OF APRIL 24 A SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM FORMED IN THE MEXICAN MOUNTAINS WEST OF PIEDRAS NEGRAS, PRODUCING A VERY DAMAGING TORNADO IN PIEDRAS NEGRAS. THE TORNADO DISSIPATED AS THE STORM MOVED EASTWARD, APPROACHING THE RIO GRANDE RIVER. THE SUPERCELL CROSSED THE RIO GRANDE RIVER NEAR 7:00 PM CDT AND SHORTLY AFTERWARD STRUCK THE COMMUNITY OF ROSITA VALLEY WITH SEVERE OUTFLOW WINDS ESTIMATED AT BETWEEN 80 MPH AND 100 MPH. THIS CAUSED DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOUSES AND MOBILE HOMES. ROOFS WERE PARTIALLY LIFTED, EXTERIORS OF HOMES WERE DAMAGED, AND TREES WERE KNOCKED OVER. HAIL AS LARGE AS GOLFBALLS ALSO STRUCK THE AREA, ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. THE STORM THEN PRODUCED A TORNADO THAT TOUCHED DOWN APPROXIMATELY ONE-QUARTER MILE SOUTHWEST OF THE ROSITA VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IT DESTROYED SEVERAL HOMES AND MOBILE HOMES AS IT TRACKED TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SCHOOL. DAMAGE TO THE STRUCTURES WAS RATED AS EF-1 AND EF-2 ON THE NEW ENHANCED FUJITA DAMAGE SCALE. THE TORNADO CROSSED ROSITA VALLEY ROAD AND STRUCK THE WEST SIDE OF THE ROSITA VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDING AS WELL AS RETAIL BUILDINGS JUST NORTH OF THE SCHOOL. THE DAMAGE FROM THE CENTER OF THE SCHOOL NORTHEASTWARD WAS THE MOST SEVERE, ESTIMATED AS EF-3. JUST BEYOND THE SCHOOL, THE TORNADO STRUCK AN AREA OF SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES. MOST HOUSES WERE SWEPT OFF THEIR FOUNDATIONS AND MANY WERE COMPLETELY FLATTENED. THIS DAMAGE WAS AGAIN INDICATED AS EF-3. IT SUGGESTED WIND SPEEDS APPROACHING 150 MPH, THE HIGHEST SPEEDS INDICATED IN THIS TORNADO. THE TORNADO PATH WIDTH WAS APPROXIMATELY ONE-QUARTER MILE WITH A PATH LENGTH NEAR FOUR MILES. IT DESTROYED ONE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ALONG WITH 59 MANUFACTURED HOMES AND 57 HOUSES. MAJOR DAMAGE WAS REPORTED TO 21 MANUFACTURED HOMES AND 19 HOUSES WITH MINOR DAMAGE TO10 MANUFACTURED HOMES, 22 HOUSES, AND 9 APARTMENTS. THERE WERE SEVEN DEATHS IN ROSITA VALLEY. 5. THE DERECHOES OF APRIL 24/25 LATE ON THE EVENING OF APRIL 24, THUNDERSTORMS THAT HAD PRODUCED LARGE HAIL AT CRYSTAL CITY AND CARRIZO SPRINGS BEGAN TO CROSS INTO MEDINA AND BEXAR COUNTIES. AS THEY SPREAD EASTWARD JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT, THEY FORMED INTO A SERIES OF NORTH-TO-SOUTH-ORIENTED LINES THAT MOVED RAPIDLY EASTWARD, OFTEN REFERRED TO AS "DERECHOES". JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT THESE LINES BEGAN TO PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS WITH LITTLE OR NO HAIL. THE AREA OF WIND DAMAGE BEGAN ALONG A LINE FROM BULVERDE TO JUST EAST OF SAN ANTONIO TO FLORESVILLE AND CONTINUED EASTWARD. THE SUSTAINED WINDS FROM THE LINE WERE ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 50 AND 60 MPH, WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 80 MPH. THESE DAMAGING WINDS, ALSO REFERRED TO AS "DOWNBURST" WINDS, CONTINUED TO DAMAGE HOMES AND KNOCK OVER TREES AS THE LINES SPREAD EASTWARD INTO HAYS, GUADALUPE, CALDWELL, AND GONZALES COUNTIES BETWEEN 1 AM AND 2 AM CDT. MULTIPLE STORM SURVEYS CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ACROSS THESE COUNTIES INDICATED THAT GUSTS IN SOME PLACES MAY HAVE APPROACHED 100 MPH. SHORTLY AFTER 3 AM CDT, THE STORMS MOVED THROUGH BASTROP AND FAYETTE COUNTIES, EXITING SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. 6. THE HEAVY RAINS AND FLOODING OF MAY THROUGH JULY AFTER A DRY JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, SPRING STORMS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IN MARCH AND THEN DROPPED OFF IN APRIL. STORM ACTIVITY AGAIN INTENSIFIED IN MAY AND THIS TIME CONTINUED PAST JUNE INTO JULY. EXCEPT FOR A PART OF THE AREA EAST OF IH-35 AND SOUTH OF IH-10, NEARLY EVERY COUNTY RECEIVED 150 PERCENT OR GREATER OF ITS NORMAL RAINFALL IN BOTH MAY AND JUNE. IN JULY EVERY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS RECEIVED 300 PERCENT OF NORMAL JULY RAINFALL OR GREATER. THE EFFECTS OF THE INCREASE IN FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY OF RAIN EVENTS BROUGHT AN INCREASE IN THE FLASH FLOOD EVENTS FROM NONE IN FEBRUARY TO BETWEEN 50 AND 60 IN EACH OF MARCH, MAY AND JUNE. FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS ZOOMED FROM NONE IN FEBRUARY TO WELL OVER 100 IN EACH OF MARCH, MAY AND JUNE. THE STORMS CONTINUED TO INCREASE AS JULY ARRIVED AND THE NUMBER OF BOTH FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS AND FLASH FLOOD EVENTS TRIPLED OVER THE JUNE VALUES. THIS EXCESSIVE SPRING RAINFALL MADE THE JANUARY THROUGH JULY 2007 PERIOD ONE OF THE THREE WETTEST IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS HISTORY. BY JULY, MANY SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS LOCATIONS HAD ALREADY RECEIVED ENOUGH RAINFALL TO EQUAL OR EXCEEDED THEIR ANNUAL AVERAGE AMOUNTS. THE EXTREME RAINFALL IN JUNE AND JULY WAS NOT CONFINED TO SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS, BUT STRETCHED ACROSS THE EASTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE STATE. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE FLOOD EVENTS IN STATE HISTORY, BOTH IN AERIAL EXTENT AND DURATION. AT ONE POINT, THE CHIEF OF THE GOVERNOR'S DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT NOTED THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1957 EVERY MAJOR RIVER IN THE STATE WAS IN FLOOD. THE TEXAS STATE CLIMATOLOGIST NOTED THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER TEN YEARS RAIN DEFICITS HAD BEEN ERASED AND THE STATE WAS DECLARED DROUGHT-FREE. 7. MARBLE FALLS HEAVY RAIN EVENT OF JUNE 27 TWO LINES OF THUNDERSTORMS, ONE MOVING SOUTH FROM THE DALLAS AREA AND ONE MOVING SOUTHEAST FROM THE ABILENE AREA, INTERSECTED AND STALLED NEAR MARBLE FALLS, PRODUCING A SUSTAINED HEAVY RAINFALL OVER BURNET COUNTY FROM NEAR MIDNIGHT INTO THE MID MORNING HOURS OF WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27. GENERAL RAINFALL OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF BURNET COUNTY WAS BETWEEN 10 AND 15 INCHES WITH THE HIGHEST RAIN TOTALS IN THE MARBLE FALLS AREA, WHERE UP TO 19 INCHES FELL. OVER EIGHT INCHES OF RAIN WAS MEASURED IN A ONE-HOUR STRETCH NEAR MARBLE FALLS. THIS VALUE IS VERY CLOSE TO THE ALL-TIME US ONE-HOUR RAINFALL RECORD. TEXAS MILITARY FORCES WERE MOBILIZED AND SENT INTO MARBLE FALLS TO HELP WITH RESCUES AND EVACUATIONS. THE MILITARY PERSONNEL, ALONG WITH SWIFT WATER RESCUE AND OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS, COMPLETED 32 HIGH WATER RESCUES AND EVACUATED HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS. MORE THAN 315 HOMES AND BUSINESSES WERE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED IN MARBLE FALLS, WITH SHELTERS SET UP IN SCHOOLS. SEVERAL BRIDGES IN BURNET COUNTY WERE DESTROYED WITH SOME DAMAGE TO NEARLY EVERY ROAD AND STRUCTURE IN THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTY. NEARLY ALL PARKS, LAKES, ROADS AND BUSINESSES IN THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTY WERE CLOSED ALL DAY. DRINKING WATER IN MARBLE FALLS WAS CONTAMINATED BY THE FLOOD AND OVER 1000 RESIDENTS WERE WITHOUT WATER FOR AT LEAST A WEEK. TOTAL ESTIMATES OF THE DAMAGES WERE PLACED AT $130,000,000. TWO YOUNG MEN WERE ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE FROM MARBLE FALLS TO LEANDER IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS WHEN THEIR JEEP WAS SWEPT INTO HIGH WATER EAST OF MARBLE FALLS AND THEY DROWNED. 8. TROPICAL STORM ERIN OF AUGUST 15 THROUGH 17 TROPICAL STORM ERIN WAS THE SECOND TROPICAL CYCLONE TO MAKE LANDFALL IN THE US. ON THE AFTERNOON OF AUGUST 15, PRIOR TO ERIN'S ARRIVAL, HEAVY RAIN BANDS STRUCK THE UPPER TEXAS COAST, PRODUCING RAIN TOTALS OF 5 TO 8 INCHES. ERIN MOVED INLAND ON THE MORNING OF AUGUST 16 NEAR PORT ARANSAS AND DIMINISHED TO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION SHORTLY AFTERWARD. ERIN PRODUCE THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL ALONG AND JUST EAST OF THE CENTER OF ITS TRACK. AS IT LEFT THE COAST, IT MOVED TOWARD THE NORTHWEST, IN THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF SAN ANTONIO. BY NOON ON AUGUST 16, THE REMNANTS OF ERIN WERE LOCATED NEAR PLEASANTON IN ATASCOSA COUNTY WITH WINDS NEAR 30 MPH, AND MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH. RAIN TOTALS FROM NEAR SAN ANTONIO SOUTHEAST ACROSS EASTERN KARNES COUNTY AND WESTERN DEWITT COUNTY WERE ESTIMATED AT 3 TO 5 INCHES. BY 6 PM CDT THAT EVENING, THE REMAINS OF ERIN WERE OVER THE GENERAL VICINITY OF HONDO. THE HIGHEST RAIN TOTALS WERE INDICATED TO BE BETWEEN 6 AND 8 INCHES ACROSS AN AREA FROM CASTROVILLE TO BANDERA TO LUCKENBACH TO KENDALIA TO CANYON LAKE TO FLORESVILLE AND BACK TO CASTROVILLE. THIS INCLUDES ALL OF BEXAR COUNTY AND THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. WHAT WAS LEFT OF ERIN WAS ESTIMATED TO BE IN THE ROCKSPRINGS AREA AT MIDNIGHT ON AUGUST 16 AND NEAR OZONA ON THE MORNING OF AUGUST 17. BY THE MORNING OF AUGUST 17, MOST OF THE HEAVY RAIN WAS LOCATED ALONG AND NORTH OF THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION OF THE REMNANT OF ERIN. RAIN TOTALS FROM ERIN IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS WERE ESTIMATED AT BETWEEN 7 AND 10 INCHES OVER MOST OF KERR, GILLESPIE, KENDALL, BANDERA, COMAL, BEXAR AND MEDINA COUNTIES. AMONG THE HIGHEST TOTALS WAS A REPORT OF JUST OVER 15 INCHES IN SOUTHERN GILLESPIE COUNTY. FLASH FLOODING IN ASSOCIATION WITH ERIN BEGAN ON THE AFTERNOON OF AUGUST 16 AND CONTINUED INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF AUGUST 17. UNFORTUNATELY 2 DEATHS RESULTED FROM THE FLASH FLOODING IN BEXAR COUNTY ON AUGUST 16 AND 2 FROM THE FLASH FLOODING IN KENDALL COUNTY, ALSO ON AUGUST 16. 9. THE UNUSUALLY COOL AND WET SUMMER OF 2007 A COMBINATION OF PERSISTENT STORMS AND SEMI-TROPICAL SYSTEMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS BROUGHT WELL ABOVE-AVERAGE RAINFALL AND UNSEASONABLY MILD TEMPERATURES IN THE SUMMER OF 2007. DAILY HIGHS TEMPERATURES FOR JUNE THROUGH AUGUST AT AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO, AND DEL RIO, AVERAGED FROM 2 TO 7 DEGREES COOLER THAN NORMAL. DAILY LOW TEMPERATURES SHOWED LITTLE CHANGE, HOWEVER, FROM NORMAL VALUES. THE WIDESPREAD RAIN AND CLOUDINESS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS PREVENTED STRONG HEATING OF THE ATMOSPHERE THAT WOULD HAVE PRODUCED THE USUALLY HOT DAYS. THIS CLOUDINESS ALSO MODERATED THE NIGHTTIME MINIMUMS, NOT ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO COOL GREATLY. FURTHER EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECT ON TEMPERATURES WAS SEEN IN A NEAR-TOTAL-LACK OF 100 DEGREE DAYS. OF THE FOUR LONG-TERM CLIMATOLOGICAL SITES, OFFICIAL RECORDS SHOWED 100-DEGREE READINGS ONLY AT AUSTIN MABRY - ON AUGUST 12, 13 AND 14. IN AN "AVERAGE" YEAR THERE ARE ABOUT A DOZEN 100-DEGREE DAYS IN AUSTIN, WITH ABOUT 20 AT DEL RIO AND 8 IN SAN ANTONIO. THIS WAS INDEED AN UNUSUAL SUMMER. IN FACT, THE ONLY 99 DEGREE READINGS WERE REPORTED AT AUSTIN BERGSTROM ON AUGUST 12 AND 13. OUTSIDE OF THESE READINGS, SUMMER DAILY HIGH TEMPS WERE 98 DEGREES OR COOLER AT ALL FOUR SITES. AGAIN, THIS WAS A RESULT OF THE COMBINATION OF FREQUENT RAIN, PERSISTENT CLOUDINESS, AND VERY WET-TO-NEARLY-SATURATED SOILS. RAIN TOTALS FOR JUNE THROUGH AUGUST AT THE FOUR SITES RANGED FROM MORE THAN 150 PERCENT OF NORMAL TO ALMOST 300 PERCENT OF NORMAL. RAINFALL EXCEEDED NORMAL AMOUNTS BY AROUND 5 INCHES IN THE WEST, ABOUT 10 INCHES IN THE NORTH AND JUST OVER 15 INCHES IN THE SOUTH. ONE POSITIVE EFFECT OF THE COOL AND RAINY PERIOD WAS A WILDFLOWER EXHIBIT OVER PARTS OF THE STATE THAT EXTENDED INTO JULY, FAR BEYOND THE NORMAL END OF THE EVENT. 10. THE OCTOBER 15 HEAVY RAIN EVENT IN THE SOUTHEAST COUNTIES A COLD FRONT MOVED ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE AFTERNOON OF MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, SLOWING AS IT REACHED THE MID TEXAS COASTAL PLAINS. THE FRONT FINALLY STALLED JUST NEAR A SEALY TO HALLETTSVILLE TO PLEASANTON LINE LATE THAT AFTERNOON. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT THROUGH EVENING AND LATE NIGHT, WITH TOTALS BY 6 PM CDT AROUND 3 INCHES IN SOUTHERN LAVACA COUNTY AND HIGHER AMOUNTS TO THE EAST. BY MIDNIGHT, RAIN TOTALS IN SOUTHERN LAVACA COUNTY WERE APPROACHING 6 INCHES IN PLACES AND BY SUNRISE TOTALS WERE BETWEEN 8 AND 10 INCHES. REPORTS FROM THE RECENTLY ACTIVATED COCORAHS NETWORK (WWW.COCORAHS.ORG) CONFIRMED EVENT TOTALS OF BETWEEN 10 AND 15 INCHES JUST NORTH OF SPEAKS IN SOUTHEAST LAVACA COUNTY. THE HEAVY RAIN CAUSED RAPID RISES ALONG THE NAVIDAD RIVER FROM SOUTHERN LAVACA COUNTY INTO JACKSON COUNTY, WITH MODERATE FLOODING AT MORALES IN NORTHERN JACKSON COUNTY THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING NIGHT HOURS OF OCTOBER 17. 11. AN EXTRA STORY: THE DEVASTATING LOSS OF LIFE IN TEXAS IN 2007 THE YEAR 2007 WAS A DEADLY ONE FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS. MORE THAN SIXTY PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES THIS YEAR IN RAPIDLY FLOWING CREEKS AND STREAMS, RIVERS AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS. THOSE DEATHS OCCURRED IN (1) FLASH FLOODS, (2) RIVER AND STREAM FLOODS, AND (3) RIVERS AND STREAMS WITH FAST CURRENTS THAT WERE NOT FLOODING. THIS THIRD GROUP WILL BE REFERRED TO AS "HIGH WATER" EVENTS. ALTHOUGH PAST RECORDS WERE NOT KEPT OF "HIGH WATER" DEATHS, IT IS CLEAR FROM LOOKING AT THE FLASH FLOOD DEATHS THAT 2007, WITH ITS 42 FLASH FLOOD DEATHS, HAS BEEN AN EXCEPTIONAL YEAR. EVEN IN THE DEVASTATING FLOODS THAT STRUCK TEXAS IN 1998 AND 2002, THE FLASH FLOOD DEATH TOLL WAS MARKEDLY LOWER. IN FACT, IT APPEARS THAT NO EVENT IN THE PAST QUARTER-CENTURY CAN COME CLOSE TO THE NUMBER OF FLASH FLOOD DEATHS IN 2007. RECORDS KEEPERS WOULD LIKELY HAVE TO GO BACK AS FAR AS TROPICAL STORM AMELIA IN 1978 TO FIND A DEADLIER YEAR. THESE SAD AND DEPRESSING FACTS GENERATED A CALL TO A "FLOOD WAR COUNCIL" BY MORE THAN A DOZEN STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL AGENCIES IN OCTOBER. THE COUNCIL REVIEWED THE EVENTS AND CAME UP WITH SEVERAL CONCLUSIONS. GROUP 1, DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODS. OF THE 42 DEATHS, 32 WERE VEHICLE-RELATED. THAT'S MORE THAN 75 PERCENT. ALSO, 6 OF THE DEATHS OCCURRED BECAUSE THE VICTIM WAS WALKING OR PLAYING IN OR AROUND THE FLASH FLOODING. THAT ACCOUNTS FOR ALMOST 15 PERCENT OF THE DEATHS. SO, MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF THESE DEATHS OCCURRED DUE TO THESE TWO DANGEROUS ACTIVITIES. IT WAS ALSO NOTED THAT MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF THE EVENTS TOOK PLACE IN THE DARK WHEN IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO RECOGNIZE THE FLASH FLOODS IN TIME TO STOP AND AVOID THEM. FLASH FLOOD DEATHS INVOLVED ALL AGE GROUPS, WITH 52 PERCENT OF THE VICTIMS BEING MALE AND 48 PERCENT FEMALE. GROUP 2, DEATHS IN FLOODED RIVERS AND STREAMS. THREE DEATHS OCCURRED IN THIS GROUP. TWO WERE RELATED AFTER A YOUNG MAN FELL INTO A FLOODED RIVER AND A FRIEND DROWNED WHILE TRYING TO SAVE HIM. THAT GENERATED A SEARCH FOR THE FRIEND AND ONE OF THE SEARCHERS DROWNED WHEN HIS BOAT CAPSIZED. THE THIRD DEATH WAS VEHICLE-RELATED. THESE DEATHS OCCURRED MAINLY IN THE DAYLIGHT PERIOD AND INVOLVED ALL AGE GROUPS. GROUP 3, DEATHS IN "HIGH WATER". THESE 18 DEATHS IN SWIFT CURRENTS OF RIVERS AND STREAMS STILL WITHIN BANKS WERE GENERALLY RELATED TO WALKING, PLAYING, BOATING, OR SWIMMING IN THE FLOWS. IT APPEARED THAT MOST VICTIMS THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO WALK OR SWIM IN THE WATER SAFELY BUT WERE UNABLE TO DO SO. THESE EVENTS GENERALLY OCCURRED IN DAYLIGHT, WITH GOOD VISIBILITY, AND INVOLVED ALL AGE GROUPS. SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THESE VICTIMS WERE MALES AND 25 PERCENT WERE FEMALES. THE WAR COUNCIL WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK INTO THE EVENTS OF THIS YEAR AND SUGGEST IDEAS FOR IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY. IN THE MEAN TIME, THE BEST ADVICE IS TO STAY OUT OF FAST MOVING WATER AND "TURN AROUND, DON'T DROWN."