Weekly Climate Summary: 8/20/2023-8/26/2023

Last week was another hot and dry one for most Texans with thirteen long-term (recording for over 50 years) stations setting daily maximum temperature records. While this heatwave prevailed over most of the state, some areas were fortunate to see some deviation from this pattern. On August 22nd, Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on Padre Island, bringing with it heavy rain to the southern region of the state. The fast, heavy rain did result in flooding as expected. However, no fatalities, injuries, or great damage was experienced. The Corpus Christi Emergency Management Coordinator, Billy Delgado, noted that this minimal impact resulted from being well-prepared and educated from past flooding events (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/article/tropical-storm-harold-hurricane-texas.html).

Figure 1. Graphic recapping Tropical Storm Harold from The Weather Channel.

Temperatures varied across the state this past week. The warmest locations had temperature averages above 90 degrees Fahrenheit with the highest average recorded at 96.0 degrees in Dallas County. The majority of the state had temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees while parts of the Panhandle and Far West Texas fell below 80 degrees. The coolest weekly average was 74.6 degrees in Brewster County. Temperature anomalies varied throughout Texas. Above-average temperatures as much as 10 degrees above normal were experienced towards the northeastern portion of the state while temperatures were near-normal to the southwest.

As a result of Tropical Storm Harold the southern portion of the state was fortunate to see much needed rainfall during the past week. Most of this region saw at least an inch of rainfall with the highest total recorded at 6.98” in Nueces County.