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Texas Climate Report: July 1997

July brought near normal temperatures and large departures in precipitation to the state of Texas. The Plains and North Central Texas had small negative departures from the normal mean temperature while the rest of the state experienced a hotter than normal month. After experiencing large amounts of precipitation throughout the spring in 1997, the rain was seemingly "shut off" as summer arrived. Except for the High Plains, much of Texas received less than half of the rainfall which is normally observed in July. The Southern Region and Lower Valley were very dry; no rain fell in San Antonio and Brownsville while Victoria (0.03") and Corpus Christi (0.16") both received less than 10% of normal. Existing records for lowest monthly precipitation were broken for Brownsville, San Antonio and Victoria. The previous records at these stations were trace, trace, and 0.07", respectively.

The first week of July brought welcomed relief from the wet June conditions, especially in the Hill Country. It was during the previous two weeks that they had experienced devastating floods and the clear skies gave many folks the opportunity to dry out. The Panhandle and Northern Texas did experience thunderstorms as a dryline extended across the region. On the 4th of July in Lubbock, lightning accompanied fireworks in the air as an inch of rain dampened festivities. Dalhart recorded the low temperature for the month in Texas (54°F) on the 4th as well.

Texas was spared from Hurricane Danny in the middle of the month as the storm slowly progressed from the Gulf of Mexico into Alabama. Mobile received 18.52" of rain during July, most of which was the result of the hurricane. Texas remained hot and dry during this period, except for the occurrences of scattered thunderstorms in the Panhandle and extreme East Texas. Laredo observed a daily maximum temperature of 106°F, the highest for the month, on the 15th. Temperatures across the Lone Star State continued to rise during the third and fourth weeks of July as the heart of summer approached gradually. Two people died from extreme heat in Dallas during this period as the heat index reached 108°F. Overall, temperatures were 1°F to 2°F above normal across the entire state during the latter part of the month.

Monthly Summary for Selected Cities

  TMAX (°F) TMIN (°F) TAVG (°F) PRCP *Deg. Days
Station Mean *Dep. Max. Mean *Dep. Min. Mean *Dep. Days ≥ 0.01" Mo. Total *Perc. Norm. Gr'st 24 hr. *HDD *CDD
Abilene 93.4 ‑1.8 98 71.6 ‑1.1 65 82.5 ‑1.5 2 0.28 13% 0.25 0 551
Amarillo 91.3 ‑0.4 99 64.4 ‑1.1 54 77.8 ‑0.8 11 5.51 210% 3.47 0 407
Austin 93.6 ‑1.4 98 74.1 +0.2 71 83.9 ‑0.6 2 2.13 104% 2.12 0 592
Brownsville 94.6 +1.3 98 76.4 +0.7 73 85.5 +1.0 0 0.00 0% 0.00 0 647
College Station 95.8 +2.0 99 73.3 ‑0.1 70 84.5 +0.9 1 0.94 41% 0.94 0 617
Corpus Christi 95.0 +1.7 98 74.3 ‑0.5 68 84.6 +0.5 2 0.16 7% 0.15 0 615
Dallas‑Fort Worth 94.8 ‑1.7 101 75.0 +0.9 66 84.9 ‑0.4 5 1.68 73% 0.91 0 622
Del Rio 97.3 +1.1 101 75.7 +1.6 71 86.5 +1.3 2 0.77 42% 0.73 0 677
El Paso 95.5 ‑0.6 105 69.8 +1.4 65 82.6 +0.3 9 0.91 59% 0.49 0 556
Galveston N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.88 N/A N/A
Houston 93.7 +1.0 97 72.4 69 83.0 +0.4 8 2.30 64% 0.65 0 567
Lubbock 92.9 +1.0 100 68.3 +0.3 61 80.6 +0.6 5 2.06 87% 1.06 0 493
Midland 95.4 99 70.2 +1.7 64 82.8 +0.8 5 2.26 133% 1.72 0 557
Port Arthur 92.9 +1.0 97 74.7 +1.0 71 83.8 +1.0 13 7.67 143% 2.73 0 593
San Angelo 96.4 +0.2 99 71.2 +2.1 65 83.8 +1.1 2 0.74 70% 0.43 0 593
San Antonio 94.8 ‑0.2 99 75.3 +0.3 70 85.0 0 0.00 0% 0.00 0 628
Victoria 95.2 +1.7 99 74.2 ‑0.4 71 84.7 +0.6 3 0.05 1% 0.02 0 616
Waco 96.0 ‑0.8 101 74.1 ‑0.3 67 85.0 ‑0.6 2 0.73 37% 0.59 0 628
Wichita Falls 96.8 ‑0.4 102 71.9 ‑0.8 61 84.3 ‑0.7 3 0.11 6% 0.05 0 605
Shreveport, LA 93.4 +0.4 100 73.8 +1.5 69 83.6 +0.9 7 1.73 47% 1.01 0 583
*Dep.: Departure of the monthly average temperature from the 1961-1990 monthly normal, which is provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
*Perc. Norm.: Monthly precipitation total divided by 1961-1990 monthly normal, which is provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
*Deg. Days: Computed daily as the departure of the daily average temperature from 65°F and aggregated over the entire month.
*Heating degree day (HDD): Each unit corresponds to a -1°F departure of a daily average temperature from 65°F.
*Cooling degree day (HDD): Each unit corresponds to a +1°F departure of a daily average temperature from 65°F.

jul 1997 average temperatures
jul 1997 average precipitation

Monthly Extremes

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
BROWNSVILLE INTL AP CAMERON 0.00
SAN ANTONIO INTL AP BEXAR 0.00
CORPUS CHRISTI NAS NUECES 0.00
ACTON RCH CROCKETT 0.00
AVALON ELLIS 0.00
BURKETT COLEMAN 0.00
CENTER CITY MILLS 0.00
COLEMAN COLEMAN 0.00
CROCKETT HOUSTON 0.00
CROSS MCMULLEN 0.00
DERBY 1 S FRIO 0.00
DIALVILLE 2 W CHEROKEE 0.00
DUBLIN 2SE ERATH 0.00
FALLS CITY 7 WSW WILSON 0.00
FLOUR BLUFF NUECES 0.00
GARDEN CITY GLASSCOCK 0.00
GOLIAD 1 SE GOLIAD 0.00
HARLINGEN CAMERON 0.00
HICO HAMILTON 0.00
HORDS CREEK DAM COLEMAN 0.00
HUMBLE PUMP STN 5 WN SUTTON 0.00
JUNCTION 4 SSW KIMBLE 0.00
KARNACK HARRISON 0.00
KARNES CITY 2 N KARNES 0.00
LA JOYA HIDALGO 0.00
MATHIS 4 SSW JIM WELLS 0.00
MAUD BOWIE 0.00
MCALLEN HIDALGO 0.00
MC COOK HIDALGO 0.00
MENARD MENARD 0.00
MERCEDES 6 SSE HIDALGO 0.00
MEXIA LIMESTONE 0.00
MULLIN MILLS 0.00
NIXON GONZALES 0.00
OZONA CROCKETT 0.00
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 0.00
PORT MANSFIELD WILLACY 0.00
REFUGIO 3 SW REFUGIO 0.00
RICHARDS GRIMES 0.00
RICHLAND SPRINGS SAN SABA 0.00
RISING STAR 1 S EASTLAND 0.00
ROBSTOWN NUECES 0.00
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 0.00
SARITA 7 E KENEDY 0.00
SHEFFIELD PECOS 0.00
SINTON 3 NW SAN PATRICIO 0.00
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND CAMERON 0.00
TELEGRAPH KIMBLE 0.00
VANDERPOOL 10 N BANDERA 0.00
WELDER W'LIFE FOUND SAN PATRICIO 0.00
WELLINGTON COLLINGSWORTH 0.00
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
HARTLEY 4 ESE HARTLEY 10.09
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches)
Station County Value
HARTLEY 4 ESE HARTLEY 5.71
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
MT LOCKE JEFF DAVIS 72.4
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
LAREDO 2 WEBB 90.5
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
CHISOS BASIN BREWSTER 84.4
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
LAREDO 2 WEBB 104.7
Highest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
CASTOLON BREWSTER 109
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 109
YSLETA EL PASO 109
Lowest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
MT LOCKE JEFF DAVIS 74
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
MT LOCKE JEFF DAVIS 58.9
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT O CONNOR CALHOUN 80.9
Highest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT O CONNOR CALHOUN 86
Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
BRAVO HARTLEY 49
LIPSCOMB LIPSCOMB 49

New Monthly Records

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
VICTORIA RGNL AP VICTORIA 0.05 0.07 (1982) 51
BROWNSVILLE INTL AP CAMERON 0.00 0.00 (1993) 115
SAN ANTONIO INTL AP BEXAR 0.00 0.00 (1993) 113
CORPUS CHRISTI NAS NUECES 0.00 0.00 (1996) 53
AVALON ELLIS 0.00 0.00 (1993) 32
BURKETT COLEMAN 0.00 0.00 (1978) 41
CENTER CITY MILLS 0.00 0.00 (1993) 35
COLEMAN COLEMAN 0.00 0.00 (1980) 98
CROCKETT HOUSTON 0.00 0.00 (1924) 86
DERBY 1 S FRIO 0.00 0.00 (1993) 19
DIALVILLE 2 W CHEROKEE 0.00 0.25 (1993) 94
DUBLIN 2SE ERATH 0.00 0.00 (1993) 90
FALLS CITY 7 WSW WILSON 0.00 0.00 (1994) 49
GARDEN CITY GLASSCOCK 0.00 0.00 (1996) 82
GOLIAD 1 SE GOLIAD 0.00 0.00 (1994) 46
HARLINGEN CAMERON 0.00 0.00 (1962) 83
HICO HAMILTON 0.00 0.00 (1993) 84
HORDS CREEK DAM COLEMAN 0.00 0.00 (1980) 45
HUMBLE PUMP STN 5 WN SUTTON 0.00 0.00 (1989) 44
JUNCTION 4 SSW KIMBLE 0.00 0.00 (1993) 80
KARNACK HARRISON 0.00 0.00 (1993) 55
KARNES CITY 2 N KARNES 0.00 0.00 (1994) 73
MATHIS 4 SSW JIM WELLS 0.00 0.00 (1986) 33
MAUD BOWIE 0.00 0.21 (1993) 51
MCALLEN HIDALGO 0.00 0.00 (1996) 54
MC COOK HIDALGO 0.00 0.00 (1996) 50
MENARD MENARD 0.00 0.00 (1993) 92
MERCEDES 6 SSE HIDALGO 0.00 0.00 (1993) 82
MEXIA LIMESTONE 0.00 0.00 (1993) 91
MULLIN MILLS 0.00 0.00 (1993) 46
NEWTON NEWTON 1.33 1.98 (1990) 14
NIXON GONZALES 0.00 0.00 (1994) 74
OZONA CROCKETT 0.00 0.00 (1987) 45
PINE SPRINGS CULBERSON 1.39 1.41 (1940) 16
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 0.00 0.00 (1994) 10
PORT MANSFIELD WILLACY 0.00 0.00 (1993) 39
RICHARDS GRIMES 0.00 0.00 (1994) 43
RICHLAND SPRINGS SAN SABA 0.00 0.00 (1993) 47
RISING STAR 1 S EASTLAND 0.00 0.00 (1993) 53
ROBSTOWN NUECES 0.00 0.00 (1957) 49
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 0.00 0.04 (1993) 11
SARITA 7 E KENEDY 0.00 0.00 (1993) 92
SHEFFIELD PECOS 0.00 0.00 (1995) 37
SINTON 3 NW SAN PATRICIO 0.00 0.00 (1993) 65
TELEGRAPH KIMBLE 0.00 0.00 (1993) 46
WELDER W'LIFE FOUND SAN PATRICIO 0.00 0.00 (1993) 33
WELLINGTON COLLINGSWORTH 0.00 0.00 (1974) 53
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
HARTLEY 4 ESE HARTLEY 10.09 8.23 (1960) 52
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
HARTLEY 4 ESE HARTLEY 5.71 2.75 (1982) 52
JAYTON KENT 2.95 2.32 (1914) 46
MULESHOE NWR BAILEY 2.03 1.90 (1987) 16
PERSIMMON GAP BREWSTER 1.40 0.90 (1993) 14
ROSEBUD FALLS 3.60 2.60 (1992) 23
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ANGLETON 2 W BRAZORIA 85.5 85.2 (1995) 82
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 83.8 82.8 (1986) 12
FALCON DAM STARR 90.4 90.4 (1996) 34
FREER DUVAL 87.9 87.6 (1978) 26
MCALLEN HIDALGO 88.1 88.0 (1996) 52
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 83.8 82.8 (1986) 12
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 86.8 86.8 (1996) 11
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 94.7 92.0 (1996) 12
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 94.7 92.0 (1996) 12
Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BENAVIDES 2 DUVAL 107 107 (1991) 25
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 98 97 (1996) 12
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 98 97 (1996) 12
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LONGVIEW 11 SE RUSK 70.7 71.2 (1979) 20
HORDS CREEK DAM COLEMAN 64.2 65.0 (1995) 41
KARNES CITY 2 N KARNES 71.8 72.3 (1990) 20
NAVARRO MILLS DAM NAVARRO 67.6 69.7 (1989) 35
TURKEY HALL 67.0 67.3 (1995) 29
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
HOUSTON HOBBY AP HARRIS 76.6 76.4 (1993) 51
HONDO MUNI AP MEDINA 73.3 73.1 (1993) 20
ALVIN BRAZORIA 75.5 75.2 (1996) 32
CANYON DAM COMAL 73.8 73.7 (1996) 35
CROCKETT HOUSTON 74.3 73.5 (1909) 62
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 76.1 76.1 (1992) 11
Highest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
PALACIOS MUNI AP MATAGORDA 83 83 (1996) 54
ANAHUAC CHAMBERS 83 81 (1996) 56
CANDELARIA PRESIDIO 80 80 (1994) 31
DEKALB BOWIE 78 78 (1996) 15
FREEPORT 2 NW BRAZORIA 82 82 (1996) 36
GOLIAD GOLIAD 81 81 (1989) 58
PORT O CONNOR CALHOUN 86 85 (1994) 43
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 80 80 (1992) 11
TOWN BLUFF DAM TYLER 77 77 (1992) 44
TEXARKANA BOWIE 79 79 (1978) 28
THOMPSONS 3 WSW FORT BEND 79 79 (1994) 39
Lowest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LONGVIEW 11 SE RUSK 62 63 (1994) 20
HORDS CREEK DAM COLEMAN 53 53 (1990) 41
KARNES CITY 2 N KARNES 62 64 (1990) 20

Climatic Averages for August

  TMAX (°F) TMIN (°F) PRCP (inches) No. Days in Month Deg. Days
Station Avg. Record Avg. Record Avg. Gr'st Mo. Gr'st 24 hr. ≥ 90°F ≤ 32°F PRCP ≥ 0.01" HDD CDD
Abilene 94.5 111 (1943) 71.7 48 (1915) 2.80 15.70 (1914) 6.30 (1978) 25.1 0.0 6.2 0 564
Amarillo 89.1 106 (1944) 63.8 48 (1915) 3.22 7.55 (1974) 4.26 (1945) 16.5 0.0 8.7 0 357
Austin 95.5 109 (1923) 73.9 58 (1915) 2.05 8.90 (1974) 6.01 (1994) 28.2 0.0 5.2 0 614
Brownsville 93.6 104 (1915) 75.4 63 (1967) 2.77 16.58 (1880) 7.82 (1880) 27.6 0.0 7.0 0 605
College Station 94.8 110 (1903) 73.2 41 (1893) 2.42 11.25 (1915) 9.89 (1947) 27.6 0.0 5.3 0 589
Corpus Christi 93.4 103 (1962) 75.0 64 (1967) 3.31 14.79 (1980) 8.92 (1980) 27.2 0.0 6.4 0 595
Dallas‑Fort Worth 96.2 112 (1936) 73.6 55 (1915) 2.21 10.33 (1915) 5.40 (1915) 26.8 0.0 4.6 0 617
Del Rio 96.0 109 (1969) 73.6 60 (1915) 1.47 6.10 (1971) 3.81 (1969) 28.3 0.0 4.0 0 614
El Paso 93.5 108 (1980) 66.6 52 (1880) 1.58 5.57 (1984) 2.45 (1906) 23.4 0.0 8.5 0 468
Galveston 87.7 100 (1924) 79.2 67 (1966) 4.47 19.08 (1915) 10.86 (1981) 5.9 0.0 9.1 0 574
Houston 92.5 108 (1909) 72.0 54 (1891) 3.49 15.43 (1915) 9.06 (1945) 25.5 0.0 9.2 0 536
Lubbock 89.6 107 (1944) 66.2 43 (1915) 2.51 8.85 (1966) 3.78 (1966) 18.3 0.0 7.5 0 400
Midland 94.1 107 (1964) 67.5 52 (1947) 1.69 5.34 (1934) 5.32 (1934) 23.1 0.0 6.1 0 490
Port Arthur 91.7 107 (1962) 73.3 58 (1911) 5.34 17.26 (1966) 8.45 (1966) 23.5 0.0 12.2 0 546
San Angelo 95.3 111 (1943) 68.4 45 (1915) 1.93 8.13 (1971) 4.67 (1996) 26.2 0.0 5.6 0 524
San Antonio 95.3 108 (1986) 74.5 57 (1891) 2.54 11.14 (1974) 5.57 (1950) 28.0 0.0 5.1 0 617
Victoria 93.9 107 (1962) 74.2 61 (1915) 3.01 7.81 (1960) 6.14 (1964) 27.8 0.0 8.5 0 592
Waco 97.2 112 (1969) 74.0 53 (1992) 1.68 9.98 (1914) 4.80 (1958) 28.5 0.0 5.3 0 639
Wichita Falls 95.9 113 (1964) 71.4 53 (1992) 2.48 11.05 (1914) 4.62 (1971) 26.7 0.0 6.1 0 577
Shreveport, LA 93.1 110 (1909) 71.3 53 (1992) 2.43 10.89 (1912) 6.47 (1912) 25.0 0.0 6.6 0 533
Climatic averages are based on 1961-1990 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
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