With regard to weather, last week was one of the most topsy-turvy periods in recent years.
The week featured everything from record high temperatures and lows around zero, to heavy rains and accumulating snow.
The climatic roller coaster began rolling on Sunday (Jan. 27), with temperatures in the 50s and some rain here and there. Then things began going wacky on Monday, as the mercury climbed to a record 75 degrees in Houston (according to data posted on the Weather Channel’s web site, weather.com), topping the 72-degree mark set in 2002.
The day’s low temperature of 58 was an amazing 15 degrees above than the normal high temperature for the date in this area.
Then on Tuesday, a storm rolled through the Ozarks and dumped significant amounts of rain amidst temperatures that were still abnormally warm. As the storm passed, a high of 66 and well over two inches of rain were recorded in Houston, with many residents reporting rain gauges filled with three inches or more.
Strong winds and heavy rain caused flooding and storm damage in isolated Texas County locations, and wreaked havoc on the lives of citizens in at least two areas of the county. Summersville firefighters reported finding storm damage north of Summersville on Highway K, and indicated that a family escaped injury by going inside a basement before a home and barn were destroyed by wind. Power lines were downed in the vicinity, so volunteers walked into the site and found the family safe.
The National Weather Service contacted the Texas County Sheriff’s Department with a request for photos of tornado or wind damage from the scene. A deputy took photos and sent them to the agency.
At the Brushy Creek low-water bridge north of Grand Avenue in Houston, a water rescue took place at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when a woman’s vehicle stalled in the rain-swollen stream. A deputy who responded to the scene called for barricades to prevent an encore.
The temperature dropped dramatically on Wednesday, as the day began with a wintry mix falling from the sky and temperatures just above freezing. As the day wore on, the high in Springfield didn’t get out of the 40s, and was even lower in Texas County.
Thursday was even colder, as temperatures in Houston made it to 37 in the morning and but then dropped steadily from there. The day concluded with unexpected snowfall dusting most areas of Texas County, and covering some spots with close to an inch.
Then – only a couple of days removed from record high temperatures – the mercury plummeted to some of the coldest readings of the season in the wee hours of Friday morning. Springfield’s KY3 TV reported that the low in the Queen City was 8, but many residents of Texas County saw their thermometers showing numbers much closer to zero – and in some cases, slightly below zero.
The frigid reading in Springfield broke a streak of 720 days without single digit temperatures in the city, the longest such stretch in recorded history. It also came less than 72 hours after temperatures were at or near 70. In Texas County, the near zero readings of early Friday meant the temperature had swung a whopping 75 degrees in the same time period.
The workweek closed out with a brisk winter’s day on Friday, with sun shining brightly, but temperatures staying below freezing all day.
The week’s conclusion began with another wintry morning, as sleet fell briefly but heavily in many areas of the county early Saturday and turned some road surfaces slick. The end featured near “normal” temperatures, with a high Saturday of 45 (one degree above average for the date), and a low of 26 (four higher than average.
Meanwhile, up in Pennsylvania, the world’s most famous groundhog – Punxsutawney Phil – didn’t see his shadow when he emerged from his dwelling Saturday morning at Gobbler’s Knob, so we’re supposedly in for an early spring. That may well be true, but here in south-central Missouri, we might also be in for more winter, and maybe even summer, too – all in the same week.