An Investigation of Clouds and Precipitation for the Texas High Plains Page: 51
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51
this situation a cold front moves through the plains area and becomes stationary
in north-central Texas. In many instances the front begins a retrograde move-
ment, setting off warm-front type continuous precipitation over a wide area
caused by warm, moist Gulf air overrunning a shallow layer of colder air at the
ground. In situations of this type, light to moderate precipitation may fall
intermittently for a period of five days or more. The slow, steady precipitation
coupled with the lack of damaging wind and hail makes this a favorable pattern
for agriculture.
The third pattern is a squall line passage not in association with a
frontal system at the surface. This situation is usually connected with a
closed low at upper levels to the west of the precipitation area. Cold impulses
spawned by this system set off strong convection in the warm moist air mass at
the surface. This, on some occasions, becomes a "metastable" situation charac-
terized by a series of short waves setting off squall line activity at irregular
intervals over a period of several days. The weather in this case may be quite
severe, with strong winds, hail and occasional tornadoes.
The fourth pattern, illustrated in Figure 19, is a fast-moving cold
front, more characteristic of winter, which affects the area for no more than
a one day period as it moves rapidly southward. Precipitation is usually moderate
during the passage of the front and gives way to clear skies shortly thereafter.
With the onset of summer, the Atlantic anticyclone extends westward,
increasing upper level stability and, thus, inhibiting strong vertical develop-
ment. This limits most precipitation to scattered showers which depend upon
low level moisture and daytime heating. Showers in these instances may be
extremely isolated, and, while they may be locally heavy in some areas, they
rarely lead to large amounts of precipitation when averaged over the entire
study area. In some cases, lessening of the upper-level stability coupled
with strong surface heating and convergence can produce general shower activity
over large areas. Even though these showers may be highly localized, their
continuous development may lead to a significant deposit of precipitation.
It is more likely, however, that general rainfall patterns in summer
are associated with frontal activity, and are relatively rare. A typical
pattern is a cold front which passes through the plains area, decelerates, and
becomes successively more diffuse as it moves southward, usually becoming
stationary by the time it reaches the coast. Weather associated with the
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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/m1/63/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.