An Investigation of Clouds and Precipitation for the Texas High Plains Page: 18
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the other stations and becomes pronounced at all three stations during the
late spring and summer.
During April, May and June, there is a continuous decrease in cloud
cover toward the south. The distributions are becoming definitely bi-modal
with peaks in the early morning and mid-afternoon. The higher cloud amounts
at Amarillo are accounted for primarily by stratiform clouds at all levels.
This is probably due to the higher frequency of cyclonic activity in the
northern portions of the study area during the spring months.
The first striking difference among the three stations occurs in
July. The diurnal range in sky coverage at Amarillo is quite small compared
to the other stations. This reduced amplitude at Amarillo is also character-
istic to a somewhat lesser degree of August and September. The difference is
accounted for by a higher occurrence of early morning cloudiness associated
with greater amounts of moisture at Amarillo.
The greatest diurnal range for the months of June through September
is found at Midland. During July, August and September, Midland has the
highest mean cloud cover in the afternoon and the lowest at night. In October,
the curves for the three stations begin to look more alike. The range at
Amarillo is still somewhat smaller, however, and the maximum afternoon cloud
cover increases from north to south.
Other changes can be noted in November, when the amplitude of the
Amarillo curve becomes comparable to that at the other stations. A single
mid-morning peak is apparent at Amarillo, while at Midland the primary peak
is in the mid-afternoon. The Lubbock curve shows the mid-morning peak that
is present at Amarillo in addition to a secondary peak during the early
morning hours.
Cloud cover increases at all stations in December with Midland
exhibiting a mid-morning peak which was characteristic of Amarillo and Lubbock
during November. Further discussion of the diurnal variation of different cloud
types is contained in the following section.
D. Analysis of Cloud Types
Figures 8a and 8b illustrate the mean monthly frequency of occurrence
for the different cloud types at each of the three stations. The frequencies
were computed by adding the number of times a particular cloud type was reported
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Haragan, Donald R. An Investigation of Clouds and Precipitation for the Texas High Plains, report, March 1970; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth839452/m1/30/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.