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Texas Climate Report: August 2004

Texas was split during the month of July as the Gulf coast experienced warm, dry weather, and the remainder of the state was wet and colder than normal. During the first week, a series of frontal systems brought some rain to the Panhandle and northern border of the state. Hail as large as 3" was reported in Cottle County on the 1st, and Wichita Falls received 1.96" of precipitation on the 6th. A high pressure system settled over the state during the second week and temperatures soared across the state. Abilene, Dallas, Del Rio, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls all topped 100°F during the first half of July. The stretch of summer weather continued until the end of the third week when a shortwave trough moved across the northern part of the state. Temperatures dropped as a cold front slowly moved eastward – highs on the 24th and 25th only reached the 60s and 70s for many stations in west Texas including: Abilene (70°F), Amarillo (65°F), Lubbock (64°F), and Wichita Falls (73°F). During this same time, Amarillo, College Station, and Midland received at least an inch of precipitation. A stationary front over North Central Texas produced heavy rains in many counties. Dallas (4.14") and Waco (4.94") nearly doubled their normal monthly precipitation on the 28th-29th, while Wichita Falls added another 1.96" and Lubbock received 2.05".

For the month, all but four first-order stations had below-normal temperatures with the coldest averages in the north and central portions of the state. South, East, and South Central Texas all experienced a very dry month with the exception of Victoria. Houston (25%), Galveston (25%), Brownsville (22%), and Shreveport (18%) received less than a quarter of their normal July rainfall. Out west, El Paso saw its fifth consecutive month with above-normal precipitation. Also, the heavy rains at the end of the month helped College Station, Dallas, Lubbock, and Waco record above-normal precipitation for the month.

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 88.4 ‑5.3 98 67.6 ‑3.8 57 78.0 ‑4.6 9 5.02 191% 2.99 0 411
Amarillo 85.6 ‑3.1 96 61.4 ‑2.4 55 73.5 ‑2.8 9 0.85 29% 0.34 0 273
Austin 94.1 ‑1.5 101 72.3 ‑1.0 62 83.2 ‑1.3 6 1.91 83% 0.99 0 571
Brownsville 95.4 +2.8 99 77.1 +1.8 69 86.2 +2.2 6 2.35 79% 2.16 0 667
College Station 92.3 ‑3.9 98 72.3 ‑0.9 63 82.3 ‑2.4 8 2.50 95% 1.06 0 544
Corpus Christi 95.0 +1.6 98 74.4 ‑0.1 64 84.7 +0.8 3 0.18 5% 0.15 0 616
Dallas‑Fort Worth 90.6 ‑4.2 99 72.4 ‑1.6 62 81.5 ‑2.9 6 4.24 209% 2.26 0 518
Del Rio 94.7 ‑1.3 102 73.8 ‑0.3 67 84.3 ‑0.8 9 2.48 115% 1.06 0 605
El Paso 90.7 ‑1.3 99 67.6 ‑2.6 60 79.2 ‑1.9 7 3.04 174% 1.95 0 448
Galveston 90.0 +0.7 97 78.4 ‑1.1 73 84.2 ‑0.2 6 0.77 18% 0.39 0 605
Houston 93.5 100 72.9 ‑0.1 61 83.2 ‑0.1 7 2.49 65% 1.17 0 570
Lubbock 86.6 ‑3.4 97 64.6 ‑1.4 58 75.6 ‑2.4 11 2.29 97% 0.87 0 336
Midland 90.2 ‑2.6 100 67.9 61 79.1 ‑1.3 7 0.77 44% 0.38 0 444
Port Arthur 91.5 ‑0.2 97 72.6 ‑0.6 61 82.1 ‑0.4 8 1.21 25% 0.71 0 538
San Angelo 90.6 ‑2.5 100 68.4 ‑1.0 62 79.5 ‑1.8 13 4.32 211% 2.65 0 458
San Antonio 93.3 ‑1.4 99 73.4 ‑0.2 63 83.3 ‑0.9 5 1.10 43% 0.70 0 576
Victoria 93.1 ‑0.6 97 71.7 ‑2.9 62 82.4 ‑1.8 8 3.78 124% 1.61 0 547
Waco 92.5 ‑4.4 101 70.7 ‑2.8 62 81.6 ‑3.6 4 0.53 29% 0.46 0 522
Wichita Falls 89.3 ‑6.5 98 68.5 ‑2.8 62 78.9 ‑4.6 8 5.42 227% 3.52 0 436
Shreveport, LA 91.0 ‑2.4 100 69.4 ‑2.9 56 80.2 ‑2.7 6 2.98 110% 1.47 0 478
Bold-italics indicate a value broke or tied the record from a previous year.
*Dep.: Departure of the monthly average temperature from the 1971-2000 monthly normal, which is provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
*Perc. Norm.: Monthly precipitation total divided by 1971-2000 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.

aug 2004 average temperatures
aug 2004 average precipitation

Monthly Extremes

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
BELMONT GONZALES 0.00
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
COMANCHE COMANCHE 14.20
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches)
Station County Value
DILLEY FRIO 9.93
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
MT LOCKE JEFF DAVIS 69.5
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
MCALLEN HIDALGO 88.0
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
CHISOS BASIN BREWSTER 79.2
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
FALCON DAM STARR 101.7
Highest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 109
Lowest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
GRUVER HANSFORD 64
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
MARFA 2 PRESIDIO 57.7
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND CAMERON 79.7
Highest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PALACIOS MUNI AP MATAGORDA 84
ROCKPORT ARANSAS 84
Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
CANYON DAM 2 COMAL 48

New Monthly Records

Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
COMANCHE COMANCHE 14.20 9.55 (1914) 88
DAVILLA MILAM 9.84 8.17 (2001) 54
DELL CITY 5 SSW HUDSPETH 5.82 4.16 (1990) 25
FT WORTH WSFO TARRANT 5.06 4.84 (2001) 14
KOPPERL 5 NNE HILL 6.07 5.11 (1996) 16
MARATHON BREWSTER 8.57 8.12 (1942) 67
MULESHOE NWR BAILEY 8.15 6.46 (1987) 21
GEORGETOWN LAKE WILLIAMSON 5.63 4.61 (1994) 25
PROCTOR RSVR COMANCHE 12.06 9.25 (1996) 42
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
COTULLA LA SALLE CO AP LA SALLE 7.04 6.85 (1974) 89
TYLER POUNDS FLD SMITH 2.34 1.97 (1940) 25
CLEBURNE 7 SE JOHNSON 4.00 3.61 (1995) 10
COMANCHE COMANCHE 8.86 4.14 (1995) 88
COPPERAS COVE 5 NW CORYELL 2.75 1.75 (1996) 20
CORNUDAS SVC STN HUDSPETH 2.00 2.00 (1994) 57
CRANFILLS GAP BOSQUE 4.50 3.57 (1996) 16
DERBY 1 S FRIO 5.22 4.20 (1998) 25
DILLEY FRIO 9.93 5.91 (1946) 91
ELGIN BASTROP 4.26 2.95 (1974) 43
FT WORTH WSFO TARRANT 4.54 2.49 (1995) 14
FRANKLIN ROBERTSON 4.71 3.40 (1995) 39
HICO HAMILTON 4.48 3.60 (1912) 90
KOPPERL 5 NNE HILL 4.11 3.01 (1995) 16
LAKE BRIDGEPORT DAM WISE 2.45 1.75 (1946) 11
MULESHOE NWR BAILEY 3.20 2.85 (1981) 21
PROCTOR RSVR COMANCHE 6.73 4.88 (1995) 42
STUDY BUTTE BREWSTER 2.20 2.04 (1996) 12
VALENTINE JEFF DAVIS 2.40 2.34 (1979) 22
WINTERS 1 NNE RUNNELS 3.53 3.39 (1978) 37
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
FT WORTH MEACHAM FLD TARRANT 80.1 80.4 (1992) 26
DALHART MUNI AP DALLAM 71.7 71.8 (1974) 54
MINERAL WELLS AP PALO PINTO 78.8 79.2 (1992) 50
ACTON RCH CROCKETT 79.2 80.0 (1998) 12
ATHENS HENDERSON 79.0 79.8 (1992) 47
BOWIE MONTAGUE 76.5 76.9 (1989) 76
BOYS RANCH OLDHAM 74.2 74.3 (1992) 25
FLORESVILLE WILSON 81.5 81.6 (1973) 38
FT WORTH WSFO TARRANT 80.8 81.5 (1996) 10
FOWLERTON LA SALLE 82.6 82.7 (1971) 44
GRUVER HANSFORD 73.0 73.5 (1996) 40
HAMILTON 2E HAMILTON 77.8 79.3 (1974) 25
LAKE ALAN HENRY GARZA 75.9 80.3 (1996) 11
LAKE PALO PINTO PALO PINTO 79.6 81.0 (1996) 11
MASON MASON 77.5 78.8 (1979) 23
MATADOR MOTLEY 76.1 76.3 (1971) 53
MULESHOE NWR BAILEY 72.5 73.2 (1981) 23
GEORGETOWN LAKE WILLIAMSON 76.7 79.2 (1992) 25
SAN AUGUSTINE SAN AUGUSTINE 79.3 81.2 (1917) 10
SANFORD DAM HUTCHINSON 75.8 77.4 (1996) 10
TERLINGUA RCH BREWSTER 76.9 77.3 (1996) 10
TURKEY HALL 76.7 77.5 (1992) 34
WEATHERFORD PARKER 77.2 77.2 (1992) 98
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
FT WORTH MEACHAM FLD TARRANT 89.2 90.5 (1992) 26
WICHITA FALLS MUNI AP WICHITA 89.3 89.6 (1950) 80
MINERAL WELLS AP PALO PINTO 89.8 90.4 (1971) 50
ARLINGTON SIX FLAGS TARRANT 88.1 90.2 (1992) 16
ATHENS HENDERSON 89.1 89.1 (1991) 47
BOWIE MONTAGUE 86.6 86.7 (1989) 78
BOYS RANCH OLDHAM 86.1 86.3 (1992) 25
BRIDGEPORT WISE 89.4 90.2 (1992) 66
CHOKE CANYON DAM LIVE OAK 95.1 95.4 (2002) 20
DRIPPING SPRINGS 6 E HAYS 92.0 92.0 (1992) 20
FT WORTH WSFO TARRANT 89.6 89.7 (1996) 10
HAMILTON 2E HAMILTON 88.2 90.3 (1974) 26
HART CASTRO 84.3 84.6 (1992) 18
LAKE ALAN HENRY GARZA 87.5 90.0 (1996) 11
LAKE TAWAKONI RAINS 87.1 90.0 (1992) 29
LYTLE 3 W MEDINA 92.5 92.7 (1992) 27
MATADOR MOTLEY 87.1 87.8 (1971) 54
GEORGETOWN LAKE WILLIAMSON 86.8 90.7 (1992) 25
SAN AUGUSTINE SAN AUGUSTINE 90.1 91.8 (2001) 10
TURKEY HALL 88.5 89.6 (1996) 34
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ROCKPORT ARANSAS 93.1 92.7 (1985) 43
Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ROCKPORT ARANSAS 98 98 (1994) 43
Lowest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
CHISOS BASIN BREWSTER 65 67 (1996) 51
COLEMAN COLEMAN 70 70 (1966) 99
EVANT 1 SSW CORYELL 71 74 (1996) 37
FAIRFIELD 3 W FREESTONE 77 77 (2001) 35
HICO HAMILTON 71 71 (1944) 81
TERLINGUA RCH BREWSTER 76 76 (1996) 12
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
EASTLAND EASTLAND 63.2 63.5 (1915) 83
VICTORIA RGNL AP VICTORIA 71.7 71.7 (1961) 91
DALHART MUNI AP DALLAM 58.4 58.5 (1950) 55
ACTON RCH CROCKETT 68.3 70.1 (2003) 12
BOWIE MONTAGUE 66.3 67.1 (1989) 76
BRAVO HARTLEY 57.8 58.1 (1992) 31
DELL CITY 5 SSW HUDSPETH 60.9 61.2 (1981) 24
GRUVER HANSFORD 59.9 60.4 (1979) 40
HAMILTON 2E HAMILTON 67.4 67.4 (1967) 26
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 73.7 74.1 (1999) 10
LAKE ALAN HENRY GARZA 64.3 70.5 (1998) 11
LAKE PALO PINTO PALO PINTO 68.3 70.9 (1997) 11
LAVON DAM COLLIN 66.2 67.2 (1992) 49
GEORGETOWN LAKE WILLIAMSON 66.6 67.7 (1992) 25
PANHANDLE CARSON 59.1 60.7 (1967) 42
PUTNAM CALLAHAN 64.3 66.1 (1971) 40
SAN AUGUSTINE SAN AUGUSTINE 68.5 69.6 (1916) 10
SANFORD DAM HUTCHINSON 64.0 66.7 (1994) 10
TERLINGUA RCH BREWSTER 64.5 66.3 (1996) 10
TURKEY HALL 64.9 65.2 (1997) 35
Highest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
CHARLOTTE 5 NNW ATASCOSA 79 79 (1975) 42
MC COOK HIDALGO 81 80 (2002) 45
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 83 83 (2003) 14
ROBSTOWN NUECES 81 80 (2001) 47
SAM RAYBURN DAM JASPER 78 77 (1975) 36
TOWN BLUFF DAM TYLER 77 77 (2003) 52
TORNILLO 2 SSE EL PASO 74 73 (1994) 23
Lowest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
HARLINGEN RIO GRANDE AP CAMERON 68 68 (1999) 17
CORPUS CHRISTI INTL AP NUECES 64 64 (1967) 118
AUSTIN BERGSTROM AP TRAVIS 59 60 (1967) 57
ACTON RCH CROCKETT 60 62 (2003) 12
CASTOLON BREWSTER 65 65 (1998) 22
CRYSTAL CITY ZAVALA 65 65 (1961) 53
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 57 58 (1992) 19
FT WORTH WSFO TARRANT 62 62 (1997) 10
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 66 66 (1998) 10
LAKE ALAN HENRY GARZA 53 58 (2003) 11
LAKE PALO PINTO PALO PINTO 56 62 (1997) 11
LAVON DAM COLLIN 54 56 (1997) 49
MATHIS 4 SSW JIM WELLS 63 63 (1966) 40
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 57 58 (1992) 19
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 70 70 (1986) 14
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 67 68 (2000) 18
TERLINGUA RCH BREWSTER 60 60 (2003) 10
TORNILLO 2 SSE EL PASO 56 57 (1989) 23
WELDER W'LIFE FOUND SAN PATRICIO 63 64 (1992) 12

Climatic Averages for September

  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 86.7 107 (2000) 64.4 38 (1989) 2.91 11.03 (1974) 6.70 (1961) 12.5 0.0 6.5 18 327
Amarillo 81.8 103 (1995) 56.3 30 (1984) 1.88 6.42 (1923) 3.49 (1900) 7.0 0.2 6.4 56 173
Austin 90.1 112 (2000) 68.8 41 (1942) 2.91 20.78 (1921) 19.03 (1921) 18.2 0.0 7.2 2 439
Brownsville 89.4 105 (2000) 72.6 51 (1909) 5.31 30.57 (1886) 12.09 (1967) 20.0 0.0 9.3 0 494
College Station 90.9 112 (2000) 68.5 41 (1901) 3.91 12.13 (1958) 6.83 (1896) 18.1 0.0 7.0 0 440
Corpus Christi 89.9 109 (2000) 71.6 52 (2000) 5.03 20.33 (1967) 8.76 (1967) 18.7 0.0 9.0 0 485
Dallas‑Fort Worth 87.7 111 (2000) 67.2 40 (1942) 2.42 10.80 (1932) 9.57 (1932) 15.5 0.0 6.1 2 376
Del Rio 90.6 110 (2000) 69.4 43 (1908) 2.06 17.15 (1964) 5.52 (1970) 20.2 0.0 5.7 2 453
El Paso 87.1 104 (1982) 63.7 41 (1945) 1.61 6.68 (1974) 2.52 (1958) 14.3 0.0 6.5 9 305
Galveston 86.5 104 (2000) 75.6 52 (1942) 5.76 26.01 (1885) 11.65 (1961) 4.7 0.0 9.5 0 482
Houston 89.3 109 (2000) 68.4 45 (1942) 4.33 13.37 (1913) 7.98 (1976) 15.9 0.0 8.9 1 412
Lubbock 83.4 105 (1930) 58.4 33 (1983) 2.57 13.93 (1936) 5.50 (1936) 9.2 0.0 6.3 33 223
Midland 86.1 107 (1953) 61.6 36 (1989) 2.31 9.70 (1980) 4.37 (1986) 11.9 0.0 6.0 19 281
Port Arthur 88.0 105 (2000) 69.4 45 (1967) 6.10 21.96 (1980) 15.01 (1980) 13.0 0.0 10.0 1 417
San Angelo 86.6 107 (1952) 63.0 35 (1913) 2.95 11.00 (1980) 6.25 (1980) 13.2 0.0 5.4 12 321
San Antonio 90.0 111 (2000) 68.8 41 (1942) 3.00 15.78 (1946) 7.28 (1973) 18.4 0.0 6.5 2 439
Victoria 89.9 111 (2000) 70.3 45 (1942) 5.00 19.05 (1978) 7.83 (1978) 18.5 0.0 9.9 1 454
Waco 90.1 111 (2000) 67.0 39 (1942) 2.88 11.17 (1913) 6.03 (1936) 18.3 0.0 6.6 6 416
Wichita Falls 87.5 111 (2000) 63.7 38 (1989) 3.19 10.23 (1980) 6.22 (1980) 15.1 0.0 6.4 18 339
Shreveport, LA 87.6 109 (2000) 66.4 42 (1984) 3.21 16.46 (1913) 7.04 (1913) 14.4 0.0 6.9 6 353
Climatic averages are based on 1971-2000 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
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