Texas Climate Report: March 1999
Texas was divided into two areas when it came to temperature for the month of March. Areas in South and extreme West Texas were barely above normal in their daily mean temperatures while areas in the Panhandle and North Texas experienced slightly below temperatures. The range of temperature departures from normal throughout the state was quite small however, with all first-order stations falling between -1.2°F and +3.3°F for their respective departures. El Paso was the only station to receive below normal precipitation for the month. The 18 other first-order stations throughout Texas all received more precipitation for March than is normally expected.
The first few days of March saw extremely warm temperatures across Texas. The high temperature reached 93°F in Del Rio on the 1st, while Corpus Christi shattered the record high temperature on the 2nd when the mercury rose to an unbearable 98°F. From the 7th to the 13th mostly dry weather persisted across extreme Southern and Western Texas. The 8th however did see strong storms over the eastern half of the Lone Star state. Dallas and Fort Worth were just two of the many areas that experienced flooding as the storms passed over the region.
Two squall lines also passed over Central and Eastern Texas on the 12th and 19th. As the storms went by there were numerous reports of hail and wind damage along with reports of possible tornadoes in the affected counties. Little or no rain fell, however, across extreme southern Texas, where spring planting was being delayed because of the excessive dryness.
Finally as March drew to a close, the much-needed rain (2.00" to 4.00") fell on extreme Southern Texas. On Saturday the 27th, a vigorous low-pressure system moving east across Northern Mexico generated torrential rains across South Texas. Corpus Christi, Del Rio, and Laredo all broke their daily record rainfall amounts when each city measured 2.07", 1.64", and 1.97" respectively. San Antonio's rainfall total (1.44") was their highest single-day total since October 18, 1998. 2.51" of rain were reported at Brownsville on the 28th which wound up being their third-wettest March day on record.
Monthly Summary for Selected Cities
| |
TMAX (°F) |
TMIN (°F) |
TAVG (°F) |
PRCP |
*Deg. Days |
| Station |
Mean |
*Dep. |
Max. |
Mean |
*Dep. |
Min. |
Mean |
*Dep. |
Days ≥ 0.01" |
Mo. Total |
*Perc. Norm. |
Gr'st 24 hr. |
*HDD |
*CDD |
| Abilene |
65.5 |
‑3.4 |
82 |
44.2 |
+0.9 |
31 |
54.8 |
‑1.3 |
5 |
2.92 |
215% |
1.29 |
312 |
4 |
| Amarillo |
58.9 |
‑2.7 |
81 |
33.6 |
+0.9 |
22 |
46.3 |
‑0.8 |
4 |
1.35 |
141% |
0.73 |
573 |
0 |
| Austin |
71.9 |
|
87 |
52.8 |
+1.7 |
40 |
62.3 |
+0.8 |
10 |
4.09 |
219% |
1.67 |
118 |
39 |
| Brownsville |
79.8 |
+1.4 |
91 |
62.1 |
+3.0 |
44 |
70.9 |
+2.1 |
6 |
3.01 |
568% |
2.53 |
9 |
200 |
| College Station |
71.5 |
+0.5 |
85 |
51.2 |
+1.5 |
31 |
61.4 |
+1.1 |
9 |
4.13 |
160% |
2.11 |
138 |
35 |
| Corpus Christi |
77.9 |
+2.2 |
98 |
58.6 |
+3.3 |
43 |
68.3 |
+2.7 |
7 |
2.20 |
234% |
2.10 |
37 |
146 |
| Dallas‑Fort Worth |
65.9 |
‑1.9 |
81 |
46.9 |
+1.3 |
31 |
56.4 |
‑0.3 |
11 |
2.84 |
103% |
1.52 |
263 |
4 |
| Del Rio |
76.6 |
+0.9 |
93 |
53.6 |
+2.7 |
38 |
65.1 |
+1.8 |
5 |
1.89 |
274% |
1.64 |
63 |
72 |
| El Paso |
72.5 |
+2.6 |
83 |
43.4 |
+3.2 |
30 |
58.0 |
+2.9 |
1 |
0.04 |
14% |
0.04 |
218 |
8 |
| Galveston |
70.7 |
+4.0 |
77 |
59.6 |
+2.9 |
43 |
65.2 |
+3.5 |
10 |
1.87 |
84% |
0.65 |
55 |
67 |
| Houston |
74.5 |
+3.4 |
85 |
52.9 |
+2.9 |
32 |
63.7 |
+3.1 |
9 |
3.44 |
118% |
1.06 |
106 |
73 |
| Lubbock |
62.4 |
‑3.6 |
84 |
37.7 |
+1.3 |
28 |
50.0 |
‑1.2 |
6 |
1.03 |
116% |
0.74 |
462 |
4 |
| Midland |
69.0 |
‑2.2 |
88 |
42.7 |
+2.5 |
25 |
55.9 |
+0.2 |
3 |
1.22 |
210% |
0.77 |
285 |
8 |
| Port Arthur |
71.6 |
+0.1 |
84 |
53.5 |
+2.2 |
35 |
62.6 |
+1.2 |
7 |
3.44 |
106% |
2.51 |
104 |
36 |
| San Angelo |
69.3 |
‑3.3 |
84 |
45.2 |
+1.7 |
28 |
57.2 |
‑0.9 |
6 |
2.32 |
255% |
1.41 |
240 |
8 |
| San Antonio |
73.5 |
|
91 |
51.8 |
+2.1 |
32 |
62.6 |
+0.9 |
12 |
3.48 |
229% |
1.69 |
109 |
45 |
| Victoria |
74.1 |
+0.4 |
88 |
54.5 |
+1.7 |
34 |
64.3 |
+1.0 |
10 |
3.41 |
220% |
1.69 |
91 |
75 |
| Waco |
67.2 |
‑2.4 |
82 |
47.4 |
+0.6 |
31 |
57.3 |
‑0.9 |
12 |
3.15 |
135% |
1.05 |
233 |
2 |
| Wichita Falls |
63.2 |
‑3.2 |
79 |
41.4 |
+0.8 |
29 |
52.3 |
‑1.2 |
8 |
6.29 |
285% |
3.15 |
388 |
0 |
| Shreveport, LA |
66.5 |
‑2.7 |
79 |
46.2 |
+0.4 |
32 |
56.3 |
‑1.2 |
15 |
5.10 |
142% |
1.67 |
261 |
0 |
Bold-italics indicate a value broke or tied the record from a previous year.
*Dep.: Departure of the monthly average temperature from the 1961-1990 monthly normal, which is provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
*Perc. Norm.: Monthly precipitation total divided by 1961-1990 monthly normal, which is provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
*Deg. Days: Computed daily as the departure of the daily average temperature from 65°F and aggregated over the entire month.
*Heating degree day (HDD): Each unit corresponds to a -1°F departure of a daily average temperature from 65°F.
*Cooling degree day (HDD): Each unit corresponds to a +1°F departure of a daily average temperature from 65°F.
|
Monthly Extremes
| Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| ARANSAS WR |
ARANSAS |
0.03 |
| Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| SAM RAYBURN DAM |
JASPER |
11.76 |
| Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| SAM RAYBURN DAM |
JASPER |
9.04 |
| Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| PERRYTON |
OCHILTREE |
40.9 |
| Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| RIO GRANDE CITY |
STARR |
73.9 |
| Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| PERRYTON |
OCHILTREE |
54.1 |
| Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| RIO GRANDE CITY |
STARR |
87.0 |
| Highest Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| LA JOYA |
HIDALGO |
100 |
| MC COOK |
HIDALGO |
100 |
| Lowest Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| PERRYTON |
OCHILTREE |
25 |
| Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| DALHART 6 SW |
HARTLEY |
26.9 |
| Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| PORT ISABEL |
CAMERON |
65.3 |
| Highest Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP |
HIDALGO |
74 |
| Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| PERRYTON |
OCHILTREE |
12 |
New Monthly Records
| Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| GRAHAM |
YOUNG |
6.48 |
5.98 (1990) |
93 |
| HARLINGEN RIO GRANDE AP |
CAMERON |
4.02 |
3.26 (1957) |
11 |
| WICHITA FALLS MUNI AP |
WICHITA |
6.29 |
5.38 (1990) |
95 |
| ACKER RCH |
MCMULLEN |
5.22 |
4.79 (1990) |
18 |
| BIG WELLS 2W |
DIMMIT |
5.19 |
5.00 (1990) |
75 |
| BRADY |
MCCULLOCH |
4.21 |
3.84 (1997) |
67 |
| CARTA VALLEY |
EDWARDS |
4.01 |
3.59 (1994) |
32 |
| CHANNING 2 |
HARTLEY |
4.09 |
3.16 (1973) |
16 |
| CHARLOTTE 5 NNW |
ATASCOSA |
4.37 |
2.97 (1983) |
37 |
| COPE RCH |
REAGAN |
3.10 |
2.74 (1968) |
47 |
| DELL CITY 5 SSW |
HUDSPETH |
1.17 |
0.55 (1993) |
18 |
| DILLEY |
FRIO |
4.65 |
4.15 (1926) |
84 |
| ELGIN |
BASTROP |
5.47 |
5.25 (1983) |
38 |
| FLORESVILLE |
WILSON |
5.37 |
4.69 (1926) |
79 |
| FOWLERTON |
LA SALLE |
4.99 |
4.81 (1997) |
71 |
| HARPER 1W |
GILLESPIE |
5.49 |
4.70 (1997) |
55 |
| HUDSPETH RIVER RANCH |
VAL VERDE |
3.31 |
2.76 (1998) |
12 |
| JACKSBORO |
JACK |
7.57 |
5.12 (1968) |
57 |
| KATY WOLF HILL |
HARRIS |
6.85 |
4.65 (1993) |
22 |
| LAKE KEMP |
BAYLOR |
4.08 |
3.27 (1998) |
30 |
| LAMPASAS |
LAMPASAS |
6.36 |
6.23 (1970) |
102 |
| LANGTRY |
VAL VERDE |
2.12 |
2.01 (1945) |
47 |
| LITTLEFIELD |
LAMB |
2.57 |
2.07 (1973) |
31 |
| LLANO |
LLANO |
6.98 |
6.27 (1926) |
99 |
| MCCAMEY |
UPTON |
2.14 |
1.99 (1973) |
65 |
| MENARD |
MENARD |
4.47 |
4.14 (1900) |
92 |
| MONAHANS |
WARD |
1.31 |
1.23 (1987) |
37 |
| MORTON |
COCHRAN |
3.47 |
2.41 (1958) |
52 |
| MUNDAY |
KNOX |
5.16 |
3.89 (1968) |
85 |
| NIX STORE 1 W |
LAMPASAS |
6.19 |
4.99 (1981) |
48 |
| OLNEY 5 NNW |
ARCHER |
5.55 |
5.12 (1985) |
52 |
| OZONA |
CROCKETT |
3.67 |
2.54 (1998) |
46 |
| PALO PINTO |
PALO PINTO |
7.90 |
6.56 (1979) |
49 |
| PANDALE 1 N |
VAL VERDE |
3.24 |
3.05 (1998) |
46 |
| PEARSALL |
FRIO |
5.06 |
4.52 (1935) |
90 |
| PERSIMMON GAP |
BREWSTER |
1.25 |
0.73 (1990) |
15 |
| PLAINS |
YOAKUM |
3.87 |
3.00 (1929) |
59 |
| SAM RAYBURN DAM |
JASPER |
11.76 |
8.90 (1979) |
32 |
| SEYMOUR |
BAYLOR |
5.72 |
4.43 (1945) |
81 |
| STAMFORD 1 |
JONES |
3.23 |
3.13 (1973) |
74 |
| STOCKDALE 6N |
WILSON |
4.66 |
3.74 (1983) |
24 |
| STRAWN 8 NNE |
PALO PINTO |
6.66 |
6.62 (1979) |
48 |
| TOW |
LLANO |
5.45 |
5.22 (1983) |
20 |
| WOODSON |
THROCKMORTON |
6.20 |
3.75 (1998) |
12 |
| ZAPATA 1 S |
ZAPATA |
2.86 |
2.84 (1985) |
36 |
| Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| HARLINGEN RIO GRANDE AP |
CAMERON |
2.08 |
1.52 (1957) |
11 |
| ACKER RCH |
MCMULLEN |
3.58 |
2.80 (1990) |
18 |
| ALPINE |
BREWSTER |
1.35 |
0.75 (1967) |
72 |
| BOQUILLAS RS |
BREWSTER |
0.55 |
0.46 (1983) |
47 |
| BRACKETTVILLE 22 N |
KINNEY |
1.84 |
1.78 (1997) |
19 |
| CALLIHAM |
MCMULLEN |
2.40 |
1.86 (1994) |
20 |
| CHANNING 2 |
HARTLEY |
2.25 |
0.80 (1979) |
16 |
| CHARLOTTE 5 NNW |
ATASCOSA |
2.43 |
2.00 (1994) |
37 |
| DAVILLA |
MILAM |
2.50 |
2.50 (1995) |
47 |
| DELL CITY 5 SSW |
HUDSPETH |
0.76 |
0.55 (1993) |
18 |
| ELGIN |
BASTROP |
2.90 |
2.35 (1992) |
38 |
| FLORESVILLE |
WILSON |
3.40 |
3.04 (1994) |
79 |
| FT STOCKTON |
PECOS |
1.47 |
1.00 (1970) |
54 |
| GRANGER |
WILLIAMSON |
2.95 |
2.40 (1968) |
29 |
| HARPER 1W |
GILLESPIE |
2.65 |
2.49 (1970) |
55 |
| JASPER |
JASPER |
5.10 |
5.01 (1990) |
54 |
| JOURDANTON |
ATASCOSA |
2.84 |
2.73 (1994) |
56 |
| KATY WOLF HILL |
HARRIS |
2.80 |
2.08 (1983) |
22 |
| LEXINGTON |
LEE |
2.60 |
1.99 (1980) |
40 |
| LITTLEFIELD |
LAMB |
1.42 |
1.10 (1969) |
31 |
| LLANO |
LLANO |
5.29 |
2.76 (1968) |
99 |
| LYTLE 3 W |
MEDINA |
2.22 |
2.18 (1992) |
23 |
| MCCAMEY |
UPTON |
1.84 |
1.51 (1973) |
65 |
| MONAHANS |
WARD |
1.10 |
0.91 (1987) |
37 |
| MORTON |
COCHRAN |
1.93 |
1.38 (1969) |
52 |
| MUNDAY |
KNOX |
2.25 |
1.96 (1938) |
85 |
| OLNEY 5 NNW |
ARCHER |
3.36 |
2.69 (1985) |
52 |
| OZONA |
CROCKETT |
2.35 |
2.00 (1995) |
46 |
| PERSIMMON GAP |
BREWSTER |
1.25 |
0.60 (1983) |
15 |
| PINELAND |
SABINE |
4.19 |
2.93 (1994) |
23 |
| PLAINS |
YOAKUM |
2.77 |
2.10 (1929) |
59 |
| POTEET |
ATASCOSA |
3.00 |
2.87 (1994) |
53 |
| RIO GRANDE CITY |
STARR |
2.66 |
2.45 (1953) |
91 |
| SAM RAYBURN DAM |
JASPER |
9.04 |
4.14 (1994) |
32 |
| TEAGUE RCH |
GILLESPIE |
2.94 |
2.68 (1998) |
50 |
| THREE RIVERS 8 NE |
LIVE OAK |
2.40 |
1.70 (1994) |
11 |
| TOLEDO BEND DAM |
NEWTON |
5.95 |
4.59 (1977) |
24 |
| WOODSON |
THROCKMORTON |
2.82 |
1.91 (1998) |
12 |
| Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| EAGLE MTN LAKE |
TARRANT |
53.8 |
55.0 (1987) |
18 |
| Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| CHOKE CANYON DAM |
LIVE OAK |
67.5 |
67.3 (1997) |
15 |
| Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| EAGLE MTN LAKE |
TARRANT |
65.8 |
66.3 (1993) |
18 |
| Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| DEWEYVILLE |
NEWTON |
87 |
86 (1997) |
12 |
| ORANGE 9 N |
ORANGE |
87 |
86 (1997) |
12 |
| Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| EAGLE MTN LAKE |
TARRANT |
41.7 |
42.5 (1987) |
18 |
| Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| FALCON DAM |
STARR |
61.7 |
60.1 (1985) |
37 |
| PERSIMMON GAP |
BREWSTER |
47.6 |
47.5 (1985) |
16 |
| ROBSTOWN |
NUECES |
59.6 |
59.5 (1997) |
40 |
| SANTA ROSA 3 WNW |
HIDALGO |
60.6 |
60.4 (1992) |
13 |
| YSLETA |
EL PASO |
44.7 |
44.7 (1995) |
54 |
Climatic Averages for April
| |
TMAX (°F) |
TMIN (°F) |
PRCP (inches) |
No. Days in Month |
Deg. Days |
| Station |
Avg. |
Record |
Avg. |
Record |
Avg. |
Gr'st Mo. |
Gr'st 24 hr. |
≥ 90°F |
≤ 32°F |
PRCP ≥ 0.01" |
HDD |
CDD |
| Abilene |
77.8 |
102 (1925) |
52.9 |
25 (1973) |
1.90 |
9.80 (1890) |
4.63 (1914) |
2.9 |
0.4 |
5.8 |
94 |
106 |
| Amarillo |
71.5 |
98 (1989) |
42.1 |
13 (1920) |
0.99 |
6.45 (1997) |
2.68 (1911) |
1.0 |
3.5 |
4.9 |
266 |
20 |
| Austin |
79.4 |
99 (1939) |
59.8 |
30 (1926) |
2.56 |
19.82 (1915) |
10.00 (1915) |
1.7 |
0.0 |
6.9 |
28 |
166 |
| Brownsville |
84.0 |
102 (1984) |
66.5 |
37 (1903) |
1.56 |
10.35 (1991) |
9.37 (1991) |
3.5 |
0.0 |
3.4 |
0 |
312 |
| College Station |
78.3 |
98 (1893) |
58.0 |
28 (1973) |
3.38 |
12.50 (1957) |
5.30 (1953) |
0.5 |
0.1 |
6.9 |
39 |
135 |
| Corpus Christi |
81.7 |
102 (1984) |
63.2 |
33 (1987) |
1.72 |
8.04 (1956) |
7.19 (1956) |
1.9 |
0.0 |
4.8 |
9 |
234 |
| Dallas‑Fort Worth |
76.3 |
100 (1925) |
54.7 |
29 (1989) |
3.50 |
17.64 (1922) |
8.81 (1922) |
1.0 |
0.2 |
7.6 |
75 |
90 |
| Del Rio |
83.4 |
106 (1984) |
59.2 |
33 (1987) |
1.98 |
7.51 (1981) |
4.57 (1969) |
6.7 |
0.0 |
5.2 |
14 |
203 |
| El Paso |
78.7 |
98 (1989) |
48.0 |
23 (1983) |
0.20 |
2.24 (1931) |
1.08 (1966) |
2.0 |
0.9 |
1.5 |
110 |
62 |
| Galveston |
73.5 |
92 (1953) |
65.0 |
38 (1938) |
2.43 |
11.04 (1904) |
9.23 (1904) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
5.1 |
16 |
145 |
| Houston |
78.4 |
95 (1987) |
58.1 |
31 (1987) |
3.21 |
10.92 (1976) |
8.16 (1976) |
0.8 |
0.1 |
6.9 |
36 |
135 |
| Lubbock |
75.4 |
100 (1989) |
46.7 |
18 (1920) |
0.97 |
6.18 (1915) |
2.18 (1997) |
1.7 |
1.5 |
4.4 |
161 |
44 |
| Midland |
79.8 |
101 (1996) |
49.4 |
20 (1973) |
0.83 |
3.59 (1931) |
2.00 (1931) |
3.7 |
0.7 |
3.1 |
108 |
96 |
| Port Arthur |
78.3 |
94 (1987) |
59.5 |
32 (1987) |
3.51 |
15.30 (1973) |
10.09 (1973) |
0.3 |
0.0 |
6.1 |
32 |
149 |
| San Angelo |
81.2 |
107 (1925) |
52.7 |
23 (1926) |
1.67 |
5.10 (1977) |
3.32 (1971) |
5.0 |
0.6 |
4.9 |
70 |
130 |
| San Antonio |
80.3 |
101 (1996) |
58.4 |
31 (1987) |
2.50 |
11.64 (1915) |
6.78 (1915) |
2.1 |
0.0 |
7.3 |
32 |
161 |
| Victoria |
80.2 |
100 (1920) |
61.0 |
33 (1987) |
2.41 |
11.70 (1997) |
9.87 (1991) |
1.0 |
0.0 |
5.8 |
15 |
183 |
| Waco |
78.0 |
101 (1963) |
56.2 |
27 (1975) |
3.19 |
13.37 (1957) |
5.09 (1957) |
1.5 |
0.2 |
7.0 |
66 |
129 |
| Wichita Falls |
75.8 |
102 (1972) |
50.3 |
24 (1975) |
3.01 |
8.50 (1957) |
4.09 (1967) |
2.5 |
0.7 |
6.8 |
125 |
68 |
| Shreveport, LA |
77.1 |
96 (1887) |
54.1 |
31 (1989) |
3.75 |
21.84 (1991) |
10.44 (1991) |
0.1 |
0.2 |
8.2 |
69 |
87 |
| Climatic averages are based on 1961-1990 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center. |
