Climate of Texas

{{sort under}}

The Northern Plains' climate is semi-arid and is prone to drought, annually receiving between {{convert|16|and|32|in|mm}} of precipitation, and average annual snowfall ranging between {{convert|15|and|30|in|mm}}, with the greatest snowfall amounts occurring in the Texas panhandle and areas near the border with New Mexico. During the summer, this area of state sees the most clear days.{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:EwC892MrgVgJ:www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/publications/renewenergy/pdf/c02-texasclimate.pdf+1961-1990+averages+abilene,+texas&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjUPzZgyGHrSQr3-OKCxCE_k7z0gde5CELBQElE0dGvdubY9wnPRz94NkjDqsmw9bOxiDUHbRg_CJtYfGMJr9aatBJhg8HVmzgjZLjcmu4Kx8nTcl0lB2OT4c2b0jGX2vSdaEsN&sig=AHIEtbQ4N-4LKGZ4xf4OSfvqpQTGurlhVQ|pages=2–9|author=Texas Renewable Energy Resource Assessment|title=Chapter 2: Texas Climate}} Winter nights commonly see temperatures fall below the freezing mark, or {{convert|32|F|C}}. The wettest months of the year are April and May. Tornadoes, caused by the convergence of westerly and southerly prevailing winds during the late spring, are common, making the region part of Tornado Alley. Poor land management, drought, and high wind speeds can cause large dust storms, minimized in modern times by improved land-management practices, but most troublesome in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl period.{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/peopleevents/pandeAMEX06.html |title=The American Experience: Surviving The Dust Bowl: People & Events: The Drought |publisher=PBS |access-date=December 29, 2008 |archive-date=February 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221124603/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/peopleevents/pandeAMEX06.html |url-status=dead }} The panhandle region, farthest from the Gulf of Mexico, experiences colder winters than the other regions of Texas, where occasional wintertime Arctic blasts can cause temperatures to plunge to well below freezing and bring snowy conditions.{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:EwC892MrgVgJ:www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/publications/renewenergy/pdf/c02-texasclimate.pdf+1961-1990+averages+abilene,+texas&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjUPzZgyGHrSQr3-OKCxCE_k7z0gde5CELBQElE0dGvdubY9wnPRz94NkjDqsmw9bOxiDUHbRg_CJtYfGMJr9aatBJhg8HVmzgjZLjcmu4Kx8nTcl0lB2OT4c2b0jGX2vSdaEsN&sig=AHIEtbQ4N-4LKGZ4xf4OSfvqpQTGurlhVQ|pages=2–6|author=Texas Renewable Energy Resource Assessment|title=Chapter 2: Texas Climate}}

International areas with comparable climate: Southern China; North Argentina; New South Wales, Australia.

The Trans-Pecos region, also known as Big Bend Country, is in the west-central and western parts of the state, consisting of the Chihuahuan Desert and isolated mountain ranges. During fall, winter, and spring, it experiences the most clear days statewide. It is also the driest receiving an average annual rainfall of only {{convert|16|in|mm}} or less. Snowfall is rare at lower elevations, although the highest mountain peaks are prone to heavy snowfalls during winter. The arid climate is the main reason for desertification of the land, but overgrazing is slowly widening the land area of that desert. In the mountain areas one can see coniferous forests in a wetter and more temperate environment. The wettest months in this region occur during the summer.{{cite book|title=Texas Weather|url=https://archive.org/details/texasweather0000boma|url-access=registration|author=George W. Bomar|year=1983|pages=[https://archive.org/details/texasweather0000boma/page/54 54–58]|isbn=0-292-78053-2}} Winds are strengthened as they are forced to push through canyons and valleys. In the flatter areas these winds are harvested into usable electricity.

{{#lst:El Paso, Texas|weather box}}

International areas with comparable climate: Iraq; Iran; Sahel region in Africa

{{sort under}}

The Texas Hill Country, or central Texas is shaped by its many rivers and hills. The climate is semi-arid west of Brady through Junction to Rocksprings, but it is sub-humid east and south of that area; both areas have hot summers and mild winters with occasional cold spells. Humidity is high during the warm season, though afternoons especially further northwest can see a wind shift and drier air before Gulf air returns after sunset. The vegetation is both broadleaf evergreen and deciduous in the river valleys, and coniferous where there is greater elevation. Dry savannas, open woodlands, and shorter grasses dominate the northwest, while closed woodlands and moist savannas mix with taller grasses in the east and south. In a single year the region can receive up to {{convert|48|in|mm}} of precipitation, and flooding is common near rivers and in low-lying areas, while drier years might receive only {{convert|12|in|mm}} of precipitation; average annual precipitation ranges from {{convert|21|in|mm}} in western sections up to {{convert|35|in|mm}} in southeast. The wettest months of the year are April and May.

International areas with comparable climate: Israel; Lebanon

{{See also|Climate of Beaumont, Texas|Climate of Dallas|Climate of Houston}}

{{sort under}}

The Piney Woods is the eastern region of Texas and is within the humid subtropical climate zone. It receives the most rainfall; more than {{convert|60|in|mm}} annually in the far east.{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=86614&refer=&cityname=Mauriceville-Texas-United-States-of-America |title=Mauriceville, Texas Travel Weather (Averages)|access-date=September 4, 2021|publisher=Weatherbase}} This is due to the gulf currents that carry humid air to the region, where it condenses and precipitates out in the vicinity of sea breeze fronts as well as when extratropical cyclones move by. While coastal sections see the most cloudy days statewide and year-round, northern sections see the most clear days during the summer. The wettest months of the year are April and May. The area is prone to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes when the proper conditions exist, generally in the springtime. Hurricanes also strike the region, the most disastrous of which was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900.{{cite web|author1=Eric S. Blake |author2=Edward N. Rappaport |author3=Christopher W. Landsea |year=2007|publisher=National Hurricane Center|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-TPC-5.pdf|title=The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 to 2006|access-date=June 23, 2007}} More recently Hurricane Rita pummeled the Golden Triangle of southeast Texas.{{cite web|url={{NHC TCR url|id=AL182005_Rita}} |format=PDF|author1=Richard D. Knabb |author2=Daniel P. Brown |author3=Jamie R. Rhome |title=Hurricane Rita|access-date=June 26, 2007|publisher=National Hurricane Center}} The higher humidity of the region amplifies the feeling of heat during the summer. During winter and spring along the immediate coast, temperatures are kept cool by relatively cool gulf waters. Dense advection fog can form when warm air moves over the cool shelf waters during February and March, stopping ship traffic for days.

International areas with comparable climate: Taiwan; Philippines; much of the southern parts of Queensland, Australia

{{sort under}}

The region of South Texas includes the semiarid ranch country and the wetter Rio Grande Valley. Considered to be the southernmost tip of the American Great Plains region, the inland region has rainfall that is similar to that of the Northern Plains. The coastal areas are nearly warm most of the year due to currents of the Gulf of Mexico. Summers are hot and humid. Rain in the coastal region is more abundant than in the inland region, and subtropical forests line the Rio Grande. The wettest months of the year are April and May in western areas, but approaching the Gulf Coast, September becomes the year's wettest month on average. This owes to the threat from tropical weather systems, including hurricanes, which can bring torrential rains of {{convert|5|to|10|in|mm}} in one or two days. The resulting September monthly rainfall maximum prevails, for example, at Corpus Christi, South Padre Island and Brownsville. Inland, where it is drier, ranches dominate the landscape, characterized by thick spiny brush and grasslands. The winters in the inland region are variable, but usually mild to warm, with snow being an extremely rare occurrence. The summers are for the most part hot and dry, but at times can be humid when winds come off the Gulf of Mexico. Tornadoes can occur in this region, but are less frequent than in other parts of the state. The southernmost parts of the state closely border the tropical savanna climate of neighboring Tamaulipas, Mexico.

International areas with comparable climate: parts of northern Australia; much of Madhya Pradesh, India; far north Thailand

{{Further|February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm}}

File:Palm Trees and Snow.jpg in South Texas]]

Northern and western sections of the state average snowfall annually due to their colder average readings each winter. For one week in February 1956, a snow storm of historic proportions struck northern Texas. The maximum amount measured was {{convert|61|in|cm}} at Vega with Plainview receiving {{convert|24|in|cm}} in one day.{{cite book|title=Texas Weather|url=https://archive.org/details/texasweather0000boma|url-access=registration|author=George W. Bomar|year=1983|page=[https://archive.org/details/texasweather0000boma/page/164 164]|isbn=0-292-78053-2}} El Paso, in Far West Texas, received 22.4 in (57 cm) of snow during a 24-hour period December 13–14, 1987.{{cite web|author=National Weather Service Forecast Office, El Paso, Texas|title=All time heavy snowfall events for El Paso|publisher=National Weather Service|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/epz/?n=elpaso_heavy_snow}} For central and southern sections, snowfall is considerably more unusual. In February 1895, a large area of southeastern Texas received over {{convert|12|in|cm}} of snow, with peak amounts near {{convert|30|in|cm}} at Port Arthur.{{cite web|author=National Weather Service Forecast Office, Lake Charles, Louisiana|publisher=National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters|year=2010|title=Snow Climatology for Southeast Texas & Southwest Louisiana: All Measurable Snowfalls (1895-2010)}} More recently around Christmas of 2004, up to {{convert|13|in|cm}} of snow fell along the middle coast, with the maximum occurring at Victoria.{{cite web|author=National Weather Service Forecast Office, Houston/Galveston, Texas |url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/xmasevesnow04/pns_snowfalltotal.txt |title=Public Information Statement|access-date=December 1, 2006|date=December 25, 2004|publisher=National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061212134359/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/xmasevesnow04/pns_snowfalltotal.txt |archive-date = December 12, 2006}}

One of the worst cold snaps to occur statewide occurred during the last half of December in 1983, causing 13 deaths in the state and 151 nationally.{{cite web |url=https://www.weather.gov/images/oun/wxevents/19831215/sd-198312-coldairoutbreakdeaths.png |title=Reported Deaths Attributed to Extreme Cold, December 15-31, 1983 |author=National Weather Service}} Four stations recorded their longest continuous readings at or below {{convert|32|F|C}} on record. Lubbock saw temperatures at or below freezing for 9 days (207 hours). The Dallas-Fort Worth airport measured temperatures at or below freezing for a total of 296 consecutive hours (12 days). Snow which fell on December 14 and 15 across northern Texas stayed on the ground until New Year's Day of 1984.{{cite book|title=Texas Weather|url=https://archive.org/details/texasweather0000boma|url-access=registration|author=George W. Bomar|year=1983|page=[https://archive.org/details/texasweather0000boma/page/158 158]|isbn=0-292-78053-2}}

February 2021 was another record-setting cold snap. At Austin, the temperature remained at or below freezing for 7 days (168 hours). At Abilene, the period at or below freezing totaled 10 days (252 hours). The Central Texas region, including Waco, Bryan, and Killeen, set a new record with 9 days (205 hours) at or below freezing. San Angelo endured 6 days (152 hours) at or below freezing temperatures.{{Cite web|date=2021-02-19|title=Texas cities that set new records for longest stretch below freezing this week|url=https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/texas-cities-that-set-new-records-for-longest-stretch-of-cold-temperatures-this-week|access-date=2021-02-19|website=KMGH|language=en}} Because of insufficient hardening of infrastructure, the cold weather caused a statewide power shortage, cascading into shortages of food, water, and heat, and several hundred deaths.

Thunderstorms are very common in Texas, especially the eastern and northern portion. Texas is part of the Tornado Alley section of the country. The state experiences the most tornadoes in the Union, an average of 139 a year. These strike most frequently in North Texas and the Panhandle.{{cite web|url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif|title=Average Number of Tornadoes, 1953-2004|author=National Climatic Data Center|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=October 24, 2006|year=2005|author-link=National Climatic Data Center}} Tornadoes in Texas generally occur in April, May, and June.{{Handbook of Texas|id=yzw01|name=Weather}} Accessed July 22, 2008

{{further|List of Texas hurricanes (1980–present)}}

Texas's position at the northwestern end of the Gulf of Mexico makes it vulnerable to hurricanes. Some of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Texas. A hurricane in 1875 killed approximately 400 people in Indianola, followed by another hurricane in 1886 that destroyed the town, which was at the time the most important port city in the state. This allowed Galveston to take over as the chief port city, but it was subsequently devastated by a hurricane in 1900 that killed approximately 8,000 people (possibly as many as 12,000), making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Other devastating Texan hurricanes include the 1915 Galveston Hurricane, Hurricane Carla in 1961, Hurricane Beulah in 1967, Hurricane Alicia in 1983, Hurricane Rita in 2005, Hurricane Ike in 2008 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.{{cite web| author = Eric S. Blake, Edward N. Rappaport, Christopher W. Landsea| title = The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 to 2006| publisher = National Weather Service: National Hurricane Center| date = April 15, 2007| url = http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-TPC-5.pdf| access-date = October 2, 2008}}

The climatology of where tropical cyclone strikes are most likely within the state appears to be changing. In the early 1980s, the most favored region during the previous century was the middle coast. However, that region of the coastline has been rarely impacted since the 1960s, and a recent study indicates that the most vulnerable location to a tropical cyclone strike since 1851 is the upper coast, which has received 56 percent of all tropical cyclone landfalls, of which 66 percent originate from the Gulf of Mexico. This is in contrast with Louisiana and the lower Texan coast, where only 39 percent of the landfalls are from tropical cyclones of Gulf of Mexico origin.{{cite journal|journal=Natural Hazards Review|date=November 2009|volume=10|issue=4|pages=137–138|author1=Tanveerul Islam |author2=William Merrell |author3=William Seitz |author4=Robert Harriss |title=Origin, Distribution, and Timing of Texas Hurricanes: 1851–2006|doi=10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2009)10:4(136)|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1236030}}

File:Texas Precipitation Map.svg

{{see also|List of wettest tropical cyclones in the United States#Texas}}

The most serious threat from tropical cyclones for Texans is from flooding. The worst aspect about tropical cyclones is that the weaker they are, the more efficient they can be at producing heavy rains and catastrophic flooding. Systems with sprawling circulations, such as Hurricane Beulah, also tend to make good rainmakers.{{cite web|author=David M. Roth|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/txhur.pdf|page=5|date=January 17, 2010|title=Texas Hurricane History|publisher=Hydrometeorological Prediction Center|access-date=April 9, 2010}} Slow moving systems, such as Tropical Storm Amelia (1978) and Hurricane Harvey (2017) can produce significant rainfall.{{cite web|author=David M. Roth|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/amelia1978.html|date=June 20, 2007|title=Tropical Storm Amelia (1978) Rainfall Page|publisher=Hydrometeorological Prediction Center|access-date=March 5, 2008}} Tropical cyclones from the eastern Pacific and Atlantic Basins can impact the Lone Star State.{{cite web|author=David M. Roth|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/tcgulfcoast.html|title=Tropical cyclones affecting the Gulf Coast|year=2010|publisher=Hydrometeorological Prediction Center|access-date=March 7, 2008}} In general, flooding across Texas is more common during the spring and early autumn months, and it can also be due to nearby stationary fronts interacting with strong upper level cyclones.{{cite web|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=4379|title=Intense Rains Flood Mexico and Texas|date=April 9, 2004|access-date=April 9, 2010|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|author=Earth Observatory}} The most likely location for floods statewide is the Balcones Escarpment, an area of steep elevation gradient in central Texas at the boundary between the Edwards Plateau and the coastal plain.{{cite book|title=Texas Weather|url=https://archive.org/details/texasweather0000boma|url-access=registration|author=George W. Bomar|year=1983|page=[https://archive.org/details/texasweather0000boma/page/63 63]|isbn=0-292-78053-2}}

The highest temperature ever measured in Texas was {{convert|120|°F|°C|1}}, recorded on August 12, 1936 in Seymour, during the 1936 North American Heatwave, and again on June 28, 1994 in Monahans. The lowest temperature ever measured in Texas was {{convert|-23|°F|°C|1}}, recorded on February 8, 1933 in Seminole.{{cite web | title=United States Extreme Record Temperatures & Differences|url=http://ggweather.com/climate/extremes_us.htm| access-date=November 22, 2008}}

{{Weather box

|location = Texas

|single line = Y

| Jan record high F = 98

| Feb record high F = 104

| Mar record high F = 108

| Apr record high F = 113

| May record high F = 116

| Jun record high F = 120

| Jul record high F = 119

| Aug record high F = 120

| Sep record high F = 116

| Oct record high F = 110

| Nov record high F = 102

| Dec record high F = 98

| year record high F =

| Jan record low F = -22

| Feb record low F = -23

| Mar record low F = -12

| Apr record low F = 5

| May record low F = 15

| Jun record low F = 32

| Jul record low F = 40

| Aug record low F = 39

| Sep record low F = 25

| Oct record low F = 8

| Nov record low F = -10

| Dec record low F = -16

| year record low F =

|source 1 = {{cite web

|url=http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0930256.html |title=Texas: Temperature Extremes |access-date=August 4, 2016 |publisher=Sandbox Networks, Inc. }}{{cite web

|url=https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?tx4051

|title=Heath Canyon, TX: Maximum of Maximum Temperature (Degrees Fahrenheit)

|access-date=March 25, 2018

|publisher=Western Regional Climate Center }}

|date=March 2018

}}

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle is a huge impact on the weather in Texas. During the El Niño phase, the jet stream is located west-to-east across the southern portion of the United States. Therefore, winters in Texas are colder and receive more snowfall than normal. Texas is less likely to get impacted by hurricanes due to the increased wind shear across the Atlantic. Spring to early summer yields increased rainfall especially where a low pressure system is located over the Four Corners region or northern Mexico which yields monsoon-like climate (which was exacerbated during the 2015 and 2016 spring season where the City of Houston was the hardest hit as if the climate was similar to Mumbai or Kolkata, India with heavy rainfall usually from moisture from the Gulf of Mexico). During the opposite phase, La Niña, the jet stream is much further north, therefore winter is milder and drier than normal. Hurricanes are more likely to impact Texas during La Niña due to decreased wind shear in the Atlantic. Droughts in Texas are much more likely during La Niña. The 2010-11 La Niña is mostly to blame for one of the worst droughts in Texas history.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

{{Excerpt|Climate change in Texas}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{ClimateUS}}

{{Texas}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Climate Of Texas}}

Texas