An Investigation of Clouds and Precipitation for the Texas High Plains Page: 27
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27
prevalent in the daylight hours preceding noon and reaches a minimum in the
early evening. Stratocumulus is most common during the afternoon hours.
Cirrostratus and cirrocumulus shows a daytime maximum while cumulonimbus is
practically non-existent.
Cirrus and altocumulus continue to be the most common cloud types
during February. The diurnal variation in each case is identical to January
with the exception that the frequency at all hours is reduced. An increase
in convective activity is indicated by the increased frequency of afternoon
cumulus. Stratus is slightly more prevalent than in January with a maximum
during the morning hours, while stratocumulus shows a pronounced 6 p.m. LST
maximum at both Amarillo and Lubbock.
Cumulus activity continues to increase during March; however, cirrus
and altocumulus remain the most common cloud types. Cirrus has increased
slightly while altocumulus has increased during the morning hours and decreased
during the afternoon. It must be kept in mind that as low-level cloud frequen-
cies increase, the possibility of not observing the occurrence of upper-level
clouds also increases. It should also be noted that the occurrence of cirrus,
which during the winter months was due primarily to frontal activity, becomes
increasingly related to convective activity during the spring and summer
months. Stratus and stratocumulus are much the same as in February.
During April, cumulus overtakes altocumulus as a dominant afternoon
cloud type. The pronounced cumulus maximum at 3 p.m. is equal to the cirrus
frequency at this hour. Cumulonimbus, which has been practically non-existent
during the previous months is beginning to make an appearance with a maximum
at 6 p.m. at both stations. The maximum in the cirrus frequency at 6 p.m. is
probably due in part to the increased cumulonimbus activity at this hour. It
should be remembered, however, that the decrease in cirrus at sunset may also
be related to the difficulty in observing cirrus during darkness. The low
frequency of morning stratus remains about the same in April while afternoon
stratus occurrence has decreased to a mean frequency of less than one per
month. The maximum stratocumulus frequency has also shifted from afternoon
to morning.
Cumulus and cirrus are the dominant cloud types during My. Cumulus
reaches a 3 p.m. maximum of greater than 15 times per month at both stations,
falling off to practically zero at midnight. The cirrus distribution is
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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/m1/39/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.