Dalhart Weather Review
By Aaron Graves
A rumble of thunder brought the family dinner to an abrupt end. Within seconds, everyone had evacuated to the front porch. The sky, previously a blue canvas spotted with fluffy cumulus clouds, was now purple and gray, heavy clouds blocking the sun. A cold wind was blowing. I pointed out the small beads of water visible on the car windshield.
Rain.
We drove around town with the windows rolled down, the radio off, following the rain. From the lake, up Highway 87, to the cheese factory, the roads grew wet. The car tires produced that distinctive hiss as displaced water squeezed between the treads. Enough rain fell to run the windshield wipers, which we did with much rejoicing. Finally, we returned and sat in the driveway, listening to the sound of raindrops on the car roof.
Rain. Not heavy. Not drought-busting. But rain nonetheless.
It produced in us an odd sense of relief. My wife compared it to living near a construction site. You go about your day trying to ignore the constant noise. But then the workers stop, and the silence brings an almost overwhelming wave of relief to your ears. On Sunday afternoon, the worry and irritation brought on by three years of drought was suddenly silenced by the sound of rain.
Officially, only 0.05” of rain was recorded at the airport and relayed to the National Weather Service office in Amarillo. A report of 0.04” was received from 3 miles east of Channing. A second round of rain showers on Monday proved to be small and short-lived, with only a trace of rain reported for Dalhart.
Rain totals at texaspivot.com show anywhere from 0.04” to 0.05” close to Dalhart for Sunday and Monday. Similar rain totals can be found near Hartley. Some isolated places in both Dallam and Hartley counties (south of Texline, a bit east of Hartley) saw up to 0.20”, while other areas stayed dry (near Middlewater).
Nevertheless, thoughts of winter seem distant now. It finally, truthfully, feels like spring. The grass is beginning to show hints of green. The snow geese are gone. Robins, blue jays, grackles, doves, house sparrows, finches, and other birds are making the trees sing. Keep your eye on the lake as shorebirds begin to arrive. I counted 10 pelicans on the water Monday morning.
Look for temperatures to warm into the 80s for the rest of the week. A cold front on Sunday is expected to drop us back into the 60s with windy conditions and a slight chance of rain. Overnight lows will also warm up, staying in the mid 40s.
The average first day for the NWS to issue a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning in the Texas panhandle is April 12. How do you get your weather warnings? In this high tech age of cell phones and tablets, there is no end to the tools you can download and use, alongside the more traditional methods such as watching the television.
One such tool is the free local service found at the Resolve to Be Ready website www.r2beready.com. It will send out text message and email alerts when severe weather and other dangers threaten the area. If you are Internet savy, go ahead and sign up for the service. If not, next week I use this column to walk you through the website.
High and low temps the past week
Apr 1: 75, 30
Apr 2: 82, 38
Apr 3: 56, 29
Apr 4: 65, 28
Apr 5: 64, 30
Apr 6: 60, 33
Apr 7: 59, 37
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