Mark Murray: March 2009 Archives

Here's your chance to become a KVUE Storm Spotter! KVUE is teaming up with the National Weather Service to offer a free SKYWARN Severe Weather Spotter's training. Those who attend will become official KVUE Storm Spotters and will have a chance to meet members from the KVUE Storm Team! The two-hour training is fun and open to anyone with a sincere interest in severe weather spotting and safety. Here are the details:

NWS Skywarn spotter training
Wednesday, April 8th from 7 - 9pm
Baca Center
301 W. Bagdad Ave., Bldg. 2
Round Rock, TX 78664

For more information, drop me an email at mmurray@kvue.com.

-Mark

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The initial numbers are in from the Insurance Council of Texas, the largest state insurance trade association in the country, consisting of approximately 500 property and casualty insures writing business in Texas. They say last week's hail storm caused an estimated $160 million dollars in insured losses. If that number holds, it would be the costliest hail storm on record for Austin. The top three (not adjusted for inflation) are:

1) March 25, 2009 $160 Million Dollars
2) March 25, 1993 $125 Million Dollars
3) March 25, 2005 $100 Million Dollars

By the way, the hail storm that hit Austin on May 14, 2008 was a $50 million dollar storm. The hail storm that hit San Marcos in April of 2006 totaled $100 million dollars in insured losses.

-Mark Murray

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The two biggest hail storms in Austin in terms of damage both occurred on March 25th. The hailstorm of March 25th, 1993 was responsible for $125 million dollars in damage. Then, on March 25th, 2005, a hailstorm caused $100 million in damage. It's too soon to say how much damage the hail we had yesterday (March 25th, 2009) caused, but it's likely to go down in the record books as a very expensive storm. It's also interesting to note that all three storms hit north and northwest Austin, following similar paths. By the way, the hail that ripped through central Austin on May 15th of 2008 caused about $50 million in damage. The storm that hit the Outlet Mall in San Marcos in April of 2006 was another big one at $100 million.

I know one thing...on March 25th of next year, I'm leaving my car in the garage!

-Mark Murray

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If you've ever wanted to become a severe weather spotter, here's your chance! The National Weather Service holds SKYWARN training in the Spring throughout Central Texas. There's a training session in Lockhart on Thursday evening, and a training session in Round Rock on April 8th. You can find out off of the details by clicking HERE.

-Mark Murray

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It looks like there won't be any more opportunities in Austin or Central Texas to see the Space Shuttle docked with the International Space Station on this mission. I'll let you know if the landing groundtracks happen to be over Texas. The Shuttle landing is tentatively scheduled for March 27th.

-Mark Murray

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The Shuttle and Space Station docked late this afternoon. You'll have the chance to see the pair fly overhead Wednesday evening. Look low in the northwestern sky between 8:11 pm and 8:13 pm. Maximum elevation will be 16 degrees above the horizon and they'll be visible for only 2 minutes.

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There are two opportunities to view the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station this week. These passes may not be as bright as ones that we have seen before, but still could be worth a look, especially if skies are clear.

Tuesday Evening, March 17th.
The Shuttle and Space Station are scheduled to dock Tuesday evening, so these projections could change. Check back for an update.
Space Shuttle 7:57 pm - 8:00 pm. Starts low in the western sky, ends low in the northern sky. Maximum elevation will be only 16 degrees, so you'll need a clear view of the horizon. The brightness will only be about average.
Space Station 8:10 pm - 8:15 pm. This should follow the same path of the Shuttle, starting low in the west and ending low in the north. Maximum elevation 16 degrees. Again, only average brightness.

Wednesday Evening, March 18th.
The Shuttle and Space Station should be docked, hopefully making for a slightly brighter appearance. Watch for the pair from 8:10 pm - 8:15 pm, beginning low in the northwest, ending low in the north northwestern sky. Maximum elevation will be lower...only 11 degrees, so be sure you don't have trees or buildings blocking your view.

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As of late Friday evening, we've received 2.39" of rainfall at Camp Mabry over the past 3 days. That makes March of 2009 the wettest month in Austin since August of 2008.

And, 2.39" is the most rainfall received at Camp Mabry in a three-day period since this current phase of the drought began in September of 2007!!

That'll have to hold us for awhile. It looks like dry weather returns for much of Spring Break week in Austin.

-Mark Murary

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With only two exceptions, we've seen below normal rainfall in Austin each month since our current drought began in September of 2007. As of early March, we're now in the "Exceptional Drought" category. So, how much rain would it take to end the drought, or to at least make a big difference?

According to the National Climatic Data Center, we would need 15"-18" of rain over a one-month period to completely end our current drought. 18"-34" over a three-month period would also end the drought.

To significantly reduce the impact of the current drought, we would need 9"-12" over one month, or 15"-18" over three months.

Unfortunately, the odds of either ending or significantly reducing the impact of the drought anytime soon, are very, very low.

You can see the maps for yourself at:

http://www.drought.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_693_208_0_43/http%3B/www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/drought/current.html

-Mark Murray

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Tired of the wind? Well, we had better get used to it. We're right in the middle of the windiest time of the year in Austin. In order, here are our windiest months with their average wind speed:

1) March 10.8 mph
2) April 10.5 mph
3) February 10.2 mph
4) January 9.7 mph
5) May 9.6 mph
6) December 9.2 mph
7) June 9.1 mph
8) November 9.0 mph
9) July 8.3 mph
10) October 8.1 mph
11) August 7.9 mph
(tie) September 7.9 mph

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If you thought it was unusually warm last month, you were right! February 2009 will go down into the record books as tied for the 4th warmest February on record for Austin (Camp Mabry).

The list:

1) February 1999 62.3 degrees (average temperature)
2) February 2000 62.1 degrees
3) February 1979 61.3 degrees
4) February 2009 60.9 degrees
4) February 1932 60.9 degrees
4) February 1957 60.9 degrees
7) February 1890 60.6 degrees
8) February 1962 60.4 degrees
9) February 1857 60.2 degrees
10) February 1859 59.9 degrees

At ABIA, an average February temperature of 58.8 degrees was good enough for 10th place.

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