I remember vividly the rain I had in April and why we rerouted a trip to keep as far away from the storms as possible.
On Tuesday April the 26th, I watched the weather as storms hit East Texas and looked closely at the forecast for the next day. I had already planned a trip to the Midwest and our usual route goes near Memphis on I-40 with a Left turn to the North just before the Arkansas/Tennessee border.
I decided to take "pig trails" (U.S. Hwy 59 and 69) to Joplin and then go through St. Louis. That route gave us a bonus of visiting my nephew where we took a tour of Scott AFB's security.
Below the fold you will see the power of Perry's Prayer.
On the 22nd of April Rick Perry issued a "Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas".
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby proclaim the three-day period from Friday, April 22, 2011, to Sunday, April 24, 2011, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas. I urge Texans of all faiths and traditions to offer prayers on those days for the healing of our land, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of our normal way of life.
Perry's call for prayer worked for much of Texas.
April 24-25
CBS Dallas
CBS Amarillo
CBS Waco
April 25-26
The Statesman (Austin)
The Statesman (Austin)
News-Journal (Longview) (My area)
As you can see there was some rain produced in Texas after Rick Perry called for prayer. But the storms which appeared in response to those prayers didn't occur in most of the areas experiencing wildfires and didn't stop at the Texas Border.
Texas got some rain that didn't help the areas which were needed it the most while the storm continued on and produced one of the worst tornado outbreaks this country has ever seen.