Skip Nav
This December Texans were kept on their toes with the constant rollercoaster of temperature shifts during the month. Frequent cold air outbreaks interrupted periods of unseasonable heat, with many regions across the state experiencing both record breaking highs and lows throughout the month. Notable high temperature records included high temperatures over 27 degrees warmer than normal in north Texas, the Metroplex beating several 30-year- old high temperature records by multiple degrees, and Austin setting a record high temperature 6 degrees above the previous record. So, in spite of the frequent cold air intrusions throughout the month, average temperatures across the state were warmer than normal. High temperatures, combined with high winds and low humidities, led to several wildfires, including a 130 acre fire in Wise County.

Overall, drought conditions for Texas tended to improve throughout the month, owing to the well-timed precipitation in East Texas such that moisture added was not lost during the very warm periods. Livestock and agricultural conditions tended to improve as well, with cotton harvests coming in above expectations. However, some wind damage was reported from winter wheat growers in North Texas and the Panhandle, with snow cover being blown off during several of the high wind days during the middle of the month.

High winds caused several power outages as temperatures were dropping, including 1,400 homes without power in Dallas due to fallen trees. Towards the beginning of the month, there was a dense fog event in Austin and North Texas. During this, a motorcyclist died from running into a signpost and another car, which did not see him in time, ran over him. Some areas are making changes to infrastructure to help with wintry weather, such as the Wichita Falls, which has 83 new snow plows to deal with snow. In the whole year, Texas had $6 Billion in insurance claims related to weather. One hail event in April required $1.4 billion on its own. Overall, the weather this year towards the end of the month was much more mild than last year, which brought many tornadoes to the North Texas area, which cost many people their lives.
Geosciences TAMU Logo

Aggies can change the world. Geoscientists lead the way.