Here is the monthly summary from the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. A couple of things to note is that we have started off the year in the top 10 wettest category and the severe weather that took place on the 23rd, many of those wind reports came from myself in the Storm Interceptor. — First Alert Meteorologist Conley Isom

WACO DIPPED INTO THE 30S ON APRIL 9 FOR A LATE SEASON FROST…BUT SUCH AN EVENT IS NOT THAT UNUSUAL. THE LOW THAT MORNING (37 DEGREES) WAS NEAR THE NORMAL MINIMUM FOR THE MONTH (38 DEGREES). DESPITE SOME COOL MORNINGS DURING THE MONTH…APRIL TALLIED AN ABOVE NORMAL MEAN TEMPERATURE…THE FIRST ABOVE NORMAL MONTH SINCE NOVEMBER. THE BOUTS OF SPRING WARMTH PEPPERED THE MONTH…WITH THE MERCURY REACHING 86 DEGREES ON THE FINAL DAY OF THE MONTH. IN AN OTHERWISE QUIET SEVERE WEATHER SEASON…ONE MEMORABLE EVENT OCCURRED APRIL 23-24. THE STORMS BEGAN DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS OF APRIL 23…DROPPING HAIL AS LARGE AS 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER NORTH OF CAMERON (MILAM COUNTY). A SECOND ROUND OF STORMS IMPACTED CENTRAL TEXAS AROUND MIDNIGHT THAT NIGHT. GOLF BALL HAIL FELL IN KEMPNER (LAMPASAS COUNTY) WITH 60-MPH WINDS…AND A 67-MPH GUST WAS MEASURED JUST EAST OF COPPERAS COVE (CORYELL COUNTY). HAIL TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS FELL IN PORTIONS OF BELL COUNTY…BUT THE WINDS WERE OF FAR GREATER SIGNIFICANCE. WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH WERE RECORDED IN BOTH BELL AND MCLENNAN COUNTIES. THE PEAK WIND OF 66 MPH AT WACO REGIONAL AIRPORT WAS JUST SHY OF THE HIGHEST WIND SPEED EVER RECORDED THERE. THE RECORD GUST OF 69 MPH HAS BEEN REACHED MULTIPLE TIMES…MOST RECENTLY ON NEARLY THE SAME DAY (APRIL 23) IN 2008. CORSICANA ENDURED SUSTAINED WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 KNOTS (58 MPH) FOR 8 MINUTES…RECORDING A PEAK GUST OF 87 MPH BEFORE THE AIRPORT LOST POWER. THE EVENT WAS THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE WEEKEND WITH HEAVY RAINFALL AT WACO…HELPING THE MONTHLY TOTAL CLIMB ABOVE NORMAL.

Not weather related but I thought I would share this for all the Dallas Cowboys fans. Thanks to twitter follower txstormchasers for the video from the event. — First Alert Meteorologist Conley Isom

We are tracking our next storm system and cold front that will be moving into Central Texas overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Until then, we will see warm, muggy, and windy weather. Right now, the chance for storms is only about 30% because most of the upper level energy will be north of us. So the question becomes how unstable can our air become and can we break the cap. The cap is a layer of warm air aloft that keeps a lid on clouds trying to bubble up into thunderstorms. I think the cold front will be strong enough to break the cap but the chance for severe weather seems low right now. However, it is April and spring so we need to always be on alert for severe weather. – First Alert Meteorologist Conley Isom

So after hyping up our chance for storms this past Friday, mother nature decided to play a belated April Fool’s prank on us. We did see some rain across the area but all the severe weather was well northeast of Central Texas. What happened? Timing! In the world of weather, the conditions have to be nearly perfect for big storms and tornadoes. The days leading up to the event, the computer models showed a dry line to our west by Friday afternoon, sunshine, and temperatures warming into the upper 70s. This would of cause the air to become very unstable and storms would of gone up quickly. Instead, the dry line approached the I-35 corridor by mid morning, leaving the clouds in place and effectively capping off the atmosphere so storms could not develop.

I know this may sound like an excuse but I wanted to point out that the science of meteorology is an inexact science. Sometimes we get it wrong, but sometimes we get it right. The positive out of this is the fact we did not have to worry about bad weather. As we continue through the spring season, we may not be so lucky. – First Alert Meteorologist Conley Isom

It has been a while since we have seen a good snow storm across Central Texas. We did have a couple of inches for the Easter snow event in 2007 and the Valentine’s Day storm in 2004. This time around we did slightly better with average snow totals of about 3 inches and some spots getting closer to 5 or 6 inches. The last time we saw that much snow was the winter of 1982!

Just as the computer models showed, we were right in the bulls eye for the heaviest snow. The track of the storm was farther south than previous winter storms and the air was a touch colder for us. The winter precipitation started a little earlier than the models showed and it started off with more rain and sleet than we expected. That more than likely kept our snow accumulation down by an inch or two. The sleet is what woke me up that morning as it banged against our windows. Shortly after sunrise, it all transitioned to snow and kept falling into Tuesday night. The first band in the morning was the heaviest and that is when things were really slushy. Then as the snow let up and the clouds thinned out a little, the snow melted on most roadways which may travel fine in the afternoon. Once the sun set, temperatures dropped below freezing and everything iced up.

Thanks to everyone who sent us winter weather photos and we will post as many as we can on the weather page on KXXV.com. I will also include some of my favorites here in the Weather Blog. — First Alert Meteorologist Conley Isom

El Nino is back. Government scientists said Thursday that the periodic warming of water in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which can affect weather around the world, has returned.

The Pacific had been in what is called a neutral state, but forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say the sea surface temperature climbed to 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal along a narrow band in the eastern equatorial Pacific in June.

In addition, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said temperatures in other tropical regions are also above normal, with warmer than usual readings as much as 975 feet below the ocean surface.

In general, El Nino conditions are associated with increased rainfall across the east-central and eastern Pacific and with drier than normal conditions over northern Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

A summer El Nino can lead to wetter than normal conditions in the intermountain regions of the United States and over central Chile. In an El Nino year there tend to be more Eastern Pacific hurricanes and fewer Atlantic hurricanes.

The forecasters said they expect this El Nino to continue strengthening over the next few months and to last through the winter of 2009-2010.

“Advanced climate science allows us to alert industries, governments and emergency managers about the weather conditions El Nino may bring so these can be factored into decision-making and ultimately protect life, property and the economy,” NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a statement.

NOAA officials noted that not all El Nino effects are negative. For example, it can suppress Atlantic hurricanes and bring needed moisture to the arid Southwest.

But it can also steer damaging winter storms to California and increase storminess across the southern United States.

The warming of the ocean can also lead to a reduction in the seafood catch off the West Coast, and fewer fish can also impact food sources for several types of birds and marine mammals.

A recent study by researchers at Georgia Tech suggests there may actually be two forms of El Nino, depending on whether the warming is stronger in the eastern or central pacific.

While the current warming seems to be strongest in the east, the more traditional form, government forecasters did not categorize it.

If the Georgia Tech study is correct, this would be the type of El Nino that reduces hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean. The other form, centered farther west, reportedly seems to promote Atlantic storms.

Copyright Associated Press 2009

Here is the official report from the NWS in Fort Worth:

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS BEEN FELT WEAKLY BY SEVERAL PEOPLE IN THE COVINGTON AREAS OF NORTHWESTERN HILL COUNTY. NO DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED. THE NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE INFORMATION CENTER IN GOLDEN COLORADO INDICATED THE MAGNITUDE OF THE QUAKE WAS 2.6 ON THE RICHTER SCALE.

THE EARTHQUAKE OCCURRED AT 556 PM CDT…AND WAS CENTERED AT LATITUDE 32.210 DEGREES NORTH…LONGITUDE 97.297 DEGREES WEST…OR ABOUT 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF COVINGTON (HILL COUNTY). THE DEPTH OF THE EPICENTER WAS APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES BELOW THE SURFACE.

LAW ENFORCEMENT RECEIVED APPROXIMATELY 40 CALLS…REPORTING RUMBLING AND RATTLING ASSOCIATED WITH THE TREMOR. INFORMATION RELEASED IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY. ANY FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE WHEN IT IS RECEIVED FROM THE NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE INFORMATION CENTER IN GOLDEN COLORADO.