Texas Climate Report: March 2022
Highlights
March 2022 in Texas weather was marked with near to slightly drier than normal precipitation and near to slightly warmer than normal temperatures. Across the month, the countywide average precipitation was 1.20” which was 0.46” less than the long term mean of 1.66”, making this the 42nd driest March out of the last 128 years. The countywide average temperature was 57.1 °F which was 0.8 °F warmer than the long-term mean of 56.3 °F, making this the 59th warmest March out of the last 128 years. The dry and warm weather led to a degradation in drought conditions across the state with nearly 90% of the state experiencing drought conditions. Furthermore, 7% of the state found itself experiencing exceptional drought conditions. Finally, several thunderstorm systems passed through the state throughout this month leading to nearly 40 tornadoes touching down across the state.
Severe Weather
Across the month of March, 37 confirmed tornadoes were reported in Texas. The first Tornado event was on March 14th when an EF1 touched down in Fannin County and an EF0 touched down in Galveston County. Furthermore, near the end of the month on March 30th, four EF1 tornadoes touched down in Rockwall, Red River, Sabine, and Newton counties.
The main tornado outbreak across the month was between March 21st and March 22nd when several storm systems across the state produced 31 tornadoes. Eight of these tornadoes were relatively weak and were classified as EF0s. These tornadoes occurred in Wise, Denton, Falls, Limestone, Tarrant, and Burleson counties, with two EF0 tornadoes occurring in both Tarrant and Burleson counties. Another fifteen tornadoes were slightly stronger being classified as EF1s. These tornadoes occurred in Palo Pinto, Montague (3), Cooke, Tarrant, Williamson, Bell, Marshall, Johnston, Lee, Brazos, Madison, Cass (2), Harrison, and Fort Bend Counties.
During this event, there were eight reported EF2 tornadoes and one reported EF3 tornado. The first EF2 tornado impacted Guadalupe and Caldwell counties near Kingsbury and Luling. This tornado touched down at 22:48 UTC and lasted until 23:08 UTC on March 21st. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 115 mph. It traveled a length of 7.53 miles and had a max width of 600 yards. No fatalities or injuries were reported from this tornado. The second EF2 tornado impacted Travis, Williamson, and Bell counties near Round Rock, Granger, and Holland. This tornado touched down at 22:54 UTC and lasted until 23:47 UTC on March 21st. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 135 mph. It traveled a length of 2.29 miles and had a max width of 500 yards. No fatalities were reported due to this tornado however there were 16 reported injuries. The third EF2 tornado impacted Grayson County near Sherwood Shores. This tornado touched down at 23:11 UTC and lasted until 23:21 UTC on March 21st. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 115 mph. It traveled a length of 2.6 miles and had a max width of 200 yards. No fatalities or injuries were reported due to this tornado. The fourth EF2 tornado impacted Travis and Bastrop counties near Elgin. This tornado touched down at 23:30 UTC and lasted until 23:50 UTC on March 21st. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 130 mph. It traveled a length of 12.12 miles and had a max width of 500 yards. No fatalities were reported due to this tornado however there were 3 reported injuries. The fifth EF2 tornado impacted Houston County near Midway and Crockett. This tornado touched down at 03:10 UTC and lasted until 03:30 UTC on March 22nd. This tornado traveled a length of 19.07 miles and had a max width of 200 yards. No fatalities were reported due to this tornado however there were 10 reported injuries. The sixth EF2 tornado impacted Upshur, Marion, Morris, and Cass counties near Gilmer, Ore City, And Linden. This tornado touched down at 03:20 UTC and lasted until 04:08 UTC on March 22nd. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 135 mph. It traveled a length of 40.1509 miles and had a max width of 700 yards. No fatalities were reported due to this tornado however there were 7 reported injuries. The seventh EF2 tornado impacted Cherokee, Nacogdoches, and Rusk counties near Cushing and Henderson. This tornado touched down at 04:16 UTC and lasted until 05:08 UTC on March 22nd. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 125 mph. It traveled a length of 37.57 miles and had a max width of 1400 yards. No fatalities were reported due to this tornado however there was 1 reported injury. The seventh EF2 tornado impacted Travis and Bastrop counties near Elgin. This tornado touched down at 23:30 UTC and lasted until 23:50 UTC on March 22nd. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 130 mph. It traveled a length of 12.12 miles and had a max width of 500 yards. No fatalities were reported due to this tornado however there were 3 reported injuries. The final EF2 tornado impacted Rusk and Panola counties near Long Branch and Beckville. This tornado touched down at 05:08 UTC and lasted until 05:25 UTC on March 22nd. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 130 mph. It traveled a length of 12.03 miles and had a max width of 500 yards. No fatalities were reported due to this tornado however there was 1 reported injury.
The most severe tornado across this event was an EF3 tornado that impacted Jack and Montague counties near Jacksboro. This tornado touched down at 20:35 UTC and lasted until 21:20 UTC on March 21st. This tornado has an estimated peak wind speed of between 40-and 50 mph. It traveled a length of 34.5 miles and had a max width of 880 yards. No fatalities were reported due to this tornado however there were 9 reported injuries and over 90 homes were damaged.
Across all the severe weather outbreaks, severe hail was common. Comal County observed 2” hail on March 21st making this the most extreme hail throughout the month. Upshur, Freestone, Fort Bend, San Augustine, Angelina, Robertson, Trinity, Fannin, and Collin counties observed 1.75” hail during the month. Limestone, Guadalupe, Kaufman, and Anderson counties observed 1.5” hail during the month. Red River, Caldwell, Duval, Wilson, Rusk, and Ellis counties observed 1.25” hail during the month. Finally, Runnels, Tom Green, Bexar, Gregg, Webb, Travis, Denton, Tarrant, Erath, Blanco, Jack, Henderson, Grayson, Brazos, Rockwall, Dallas, and Mclennan counties observed 1.0” hail during the month.
Precipitation
Countywide average precipitation was 1.20” over the month of March which was 0.46” below the mean of 1.66”. Out of the last 128 years, this was the 42nd driest March. The Big Bend Region was the driest region in the state across the month with all but El Paso County recording less than 0.1” of precipitation. Overall, including in the Panhandle, Edwards Plateau, and South Texas, 34 counties recorded less than 0.1” of precipitation, and five counties, Brewster, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Presidio, and Terrell, recorded 0.0” inches of precipitation making them the driest in the state. The majority of the Panhandle, Edwards Plateau, and South Texas recorded between 0.1-0.5” of precipitation. The counties in the Northeastern Panhandle observed 1-2” of precipitation. The Red River Valley, Central Texas, and Northern Gulf Coast observed 1-4” of precipitation. The Piney Woods Region was the wettest in the state with most counties observing over 4” of precipitation. Marion, Harrison, Rusk, Panola, Nacogdoches, Shelby, San Augustine, and Sabine counties recorded over 6”. The wettest county across this month was Panola County observing 7.68” of precipitation.
Outside of seven counties, Marion, Harrison, Rusk, Panola, Nacogdoches, Shelby, San Augustine, and Sabine, every county in the state observed precipitation within 2” of normal.
Compared to the last 128 years, the precipitation ranks of counties across the state varied. Since Brewster, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Presidio, and Terrell counties experienced 0.0” of precipitation they experienced their driest March on record. In addition to these five counties, 31 counties observed precipitation accumulation which put them in the 90th percentile for the driest March on record. Furthermore, another 113 counties observed precipitation which put them in the 66th percentile for the driest March on record. On the other side of things, 29 counties observed precipitation which put them in the 66th percentile for the wettest March on record. Panola County and Shelby County observed precipitation which put them in the 90th percentile for the wettest March on record with both counties experiencing their 11th wettest March.
Drought
As of March 29th, 2022, nearly the entire state of Texas was experiencing abnormally dry conditions or worse. Specifically, 95% of the state was experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions, 88% of the state was experiencing at least moderate drought, 71% of the state was experiencing at least severe drought, 42% of the state was experiencing extreme drought, and 7% of the state was experiencing exceptional drought. The Panhandle, specifically between the Brazos and Pecos Rivers, the Big Bend Country, and along the Rio Grande border into South Texas were the regions experiencing the most critical drought conditions. The majority of these regions were experiencing severe to exceptional drought conditions. Furthermore, a strip through Central Texas also was experiencing critical drought conditions with extreme to exceptional drought. The Hill Country and the majority of North Texas were experiencing severe drought conditions. The Gulf Coast and Piney Woods region had less critical conditions being abnormally dry or experiencing moderate drought. The Brazos Valley region was the least impacted region experiencing abnormally dry conditions or no drought conditions.
Comparing March 29th, 2022 to March 29th, 2022, drought conditions mostly worsened across the state. Abnormally dry conditions increased from 93% to 95%, moderate drought conditions increased from 81% to 88%, severe drought conditions increased from 57% to 71%, extreme drought conditions increased from 24% to 42%, and exceptional drought conditions increased from 0% to 7%. West Central Texas degraded the most across the month with most counties in this region experiencing 1 to 2 class degradations. Schleicher County experienced even more extreme degradation with 3 class degradations. Overall this region went from abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions to severe and extreme drought conditions. The Western Panhandle also experienced 1 to 2 class degradation going from moderate to extreme drought to severe and exceptional drought. South Texas and the Gulf Coast also experienced 1 to 2 class degradation expanding the region of abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions further south and east. The northern Panhandle mostly experienced no drought change however several counties experienced 1 class improvement going from extreme drought to severe drought. The Piney Woods region also experienced drought improvement with 1 to 2 class improvements going from moderate to severe drought to abnormally dry and moderate drought. Finally, Drought conditions in North Texas remained mostly unchanged.
Temperature
Temperatures in March were slightly warmer than normal at 57.1 °F, which was only 0.8 °F cooler than the mean of 56.3 °F. Out of the last 128 years, this was the 59th warmest March. 147 counties across the state observed temperatures within 1 °F of normal. 100 counties experienced temperatures 1-3 °F warmer than normal. These counties were mainly located in the Big Bend Country, Panhandle, and Red River Valley. Three counties, Foard, Throckmorton, and Baylor, experienced temperature departures greater than 3 °F at 3.2 °F, 3.2 °F, and 3.8 °F respectively. Four counties, Starr, Willacy, Atascosa, and Hidalgo, observed temperatures greater than 1 °F cooler than normal at 1.3 °F, 1.3 °F, 1.4 °F, and 1.5 °F respectively.
Compared to the last 128 years, fourteen counties observed temperatures that put them in the 66th percentile for the warmest March on record. Seven counties observed temperatures that put them in the 66th percentile for the coldest March on record.
