Moisture brings brief relief to area (24 June 2006)

By JOE RUIZ
jruiz@sastandardtimes.com or 659-8262

Even with Friday morning's wet wakeup, the Concho Valley shouldn't expect an end to the dry weather anytime soon.

The rain began in the region during the pre-dawn hours and was over by midday. Most of it missed the rain gauge at San Angelo Regional Airport/Mathis Field, which gathered only 0.05 inches of rain.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service issued an urban and small stream flood advisory for southeast Coke County, south Runnels County and northeast Tom Green County Friday morning.

Terry Huber, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Angelo, said the advisory is defined as a special statement to the public that nuisance flooding, which is not life-threatening or damaging to property, is expected in the area.

''People might have small delays in their commute,'' Huber said.

The morning's weather was caused by a weak surface boundary that pushed into San Angelo from the Texas Panhandle overnight. Huber said moisture from the Gulf of Mexico converged with the surface boundary and produced the precipitation.

The highest total reported to the weather service was 3.45 inches of rain from the Goodyear Proving Grounds, northeast of San Angelo.

For at least the next seven days, the forecast calls for a return to the dry, warm weather San Angelo has experienced recently, but without the near-100 degree temperatures. Huber said highs are expected to be in the low 90s, which is normal for this time of year.

The rain will be a brief relief for firefighters, Huber said, as the fuel moisture should temporarily increase. Fuel is grass or dead vegetation, which can catch fire easily.

Shane Crimm, regional fire coordinator with the Texas Forest Service, said the rain allowed the agency to send help from San Angelo to areas that are still in immediate danger of wildfire, but that they will rotate back to the region as the threat of wildfires returns to the Concho Valley.