Weekly Climate Summary: 02/27/2022

Another week of particularly dry weather occurred throughout this period with less than 2” of precipitation across all counties in the state. Similar to most weeks, the driest regions in the state were the regions in the west. Specifically, the Panhandle, Big Bend Country, Hill Country, South Texas Plains, and Central Texas observed less than 0.25” of precipitation. Most counties in these regions observed even drier conditions, with observations of 0.1” or less. Along the Gulf Coast, precipitation accumulation was slightly higher between 0.1-0.5” across all counties. The wettest regions in the state were North Texas and the Piney Woods Region. The majority of counties in these regions recorded between 0.5-2” of precipitation. Taylor, Callahan, Cooke, Shelby, and Cherokee counties were the wettest counties in the state recording between 1.5-2” of precipitation.

Due to a strong cold front that moved through the state from the 22nd to the 23rd, temperatures across the state were far cooler than normal this week. The most extreme temperature departures were seen in the northern regions of the state where the cold front moved through the most. Specifically, the Panhandle, North Texas, and most of Central Texas observed temperatures 9-15 °F cooler than normal in the majority of counties. Several counties such as Jones, Taylor, and many of the northernmost counties in the Panhandle observed even more extreme departures with temperatures cooler than 15 °F than normal. While slightly less extreme, the remainder of Central Texas, the South Texas Plains, and the Southern Gulf Coast observed temperatures 6-12 °F cooler than normal. The least extreme negative departures were in the Northern Gulf Coast, Piney Woods region, and Big Bend Country. These regions observed temperatures 3-9 °F cooler than normal. Brewster County was the only county in the state which recorded positive departures with temperatures 0-6 °F warmer than normal.

Likely due to the advecting cold air from the movement of the cold front and the resulting atmospheric lift, several severe thunderstorms and hail events occurred in North Texas and around the Dallas-Fortworth Metroplex on February 22nd. Specifically, Delta, Collin, Denton, Jack, Young, Parker, Denton, and Wise counties all had reports of hail 1.0” in diameter or larger. The most extreme hail reports were in Denton County with reports of 1.75” hail and Wise County with reports of 2.125” hail.

This surface analysis at 1200Z on February 22nd shows a low-pressure system directly west of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. A dryline extended out from the low towards the south and a strong cold front swept across the low. The structure of this mid-latitude cyclone explains much of the weather witnessed throughout the week. The advecting cold air from the cold front as well as the converging air around the surface low would’ve been able to provide the necessary lift to produce the thunderstorms in North Texas on the 22nd. The cold front also contributed to the much cooler temperatures observed across the state, especially in the northern regions. The dryline gives insight into the drier than normal temperatures in many of the regions in the west.