Texas Climate Report: November 2021

Highlights

Texas weather for the month of November 2021, was marked with dryer than normal conditions and warmer than average temperatures. This month was the 37th driest November from the last 127 years with a state average rainfall of 1.13”. This value was 0.73” lower than the long term average of 1.86”. West Texas was extremely dry throughout this period while East Texas experienced higher precipitation. This month was the 29th warmest November from the last 127 years with a state average temperature of 57.5°F. This value was 2.9°F warmer than the long-term average of  54.6°F. With dryer conditions and warmer temperatures, drought conditions worsened across the state, especially in West Texas. 

Severe Weather

The main severe weather story from November 2021, was a pair of tornadoes that formed over Harrison County on November 11th. The first tornado was classified as an EF0 which made contact with the ground at 06:40 UTC. This tornado traveled a length of 0.58 miles and had a max width of 50 yards. Only minor tree damage was found due to this tornado. Eleven minutes later, a second tornado made contact with the ground at 06:51 UTC and lasted until 06:53 UTC. This second tornado was classified as an EF1 tornado and traveled a distance of 2.63 miles with a max width of 50 yards. Once again only tree damage was reported and no casualties occurred as a result of both tornadoes.  

Precipitation

November was a dryer than average month for Texas. Throughout this month, the western portion of the state remained very dry while the eastern portion experienced wetter conditions. The Panhandle and Big Bend Region were the driest regions with less than 0.1” of rain across the month. The Central Plains experienced slightly higher accumulation with around 0.5”-2.5” of precipitation. North Texas, the Piney Woods Region, and the Gulf Coast were some of the wettest regions with 2.5”-4” of precipitation across the month. The South Texas Plains were by far the wettest region in the state with 3.25”-6.25” of precipitation. Specifically, Duval County and Hidalgo County recorded over 6.25” of precipitation and were the wettest counties in the state.

Drought

As of December 2nd, 2021, 71% of the state was classified as being at least abnormally dry. 49% of the state was in moderate drought, and 17% of the state was in severe drought. The remaining 29% of the state had no drought conditions. The Panhandle experienced the worst drought conditions in the state with the whole region being in moderate drought or worse. Furthermore, the majority of the state's severe drought conditions were found to be in the Panhandle. The Big Bend Region and Piney Woods Region also experienced heavy drought conditions with these regions experiencing mostly moderate drought.  The remainder of North Texas experienced abnormally dry conditions.

Across November, both drought degradation and improvement were seen across the state. The Panhandle and Big Bend Region had worsening drought conditions across the month. In these regions, a single class degradation was most common, however, quite a few counties experienced two class degradations. The South Texas Plains and North Texas saw improved drought conditions across the month. These regions experienced mainly a single class improvement. Starr County and Jim Hogg County saw the most drought improvement in the state with three class improvements. Finally, the Piney Woods Region had very little to no change in drought conditions.

Temperature

Throughout this month Texas experienced a range of temperature departures. The western side of the state experienced warmer temperatures than normal, whereas the eastern side of the state experienced cooler temperatures than normal. The Panhandle and Big Bend Region saw the warmest temperature departures in the state with temperatures 2-5 °F higher than the long-term average. Specifically, Moore, Jeff Davis, Presidio, and Brewster Counties had the warmest departures at above 5 °F. Looking east, the Edwards Plateau, Lakes and Prairies Region, and South Texas Plains also experienced positive temperature departures at 0-3 °F warmer than the long-term average. On the other side of things, Central Texas, the Gulf Coast, and the Piney Woods Region experienced negative temperature departures. Temperatures in these regions were 0-3 °F cooler than the long-term average. Specifically, the counties along the Texas-Louisiana border had departures 2-3 °F cooler, and Wilson, Gonzales, and Karnes Counties had the lowest temperature departures in the state at 3-4 °F cooler.