Texas Climate Report: November 1997

Texas experienced a touch of winter weather despite being in the heart of the autumn season during November. All areas of the state had average monthly mean temperatures which were well below normal, particularly in Central and Southeast Texas. Waco (-5.0°F), Victoria (-4.9°F) and Houston (-5.3°F) had some of the more notable mean temperature departures. Monthly precipitation ranged from below normal amounts in North Texas (Dallas, 44% of normal) to above normal amounts in West Texas (El Paso, 180% of normal).

The month's high temperature in Texas was recorded on the 1st at Brownsville (92°F) before any of the cold air masses reached Texas from the North. After relatively normal temperatures and minimal precipitation during the first few days of the month, a cold front brought some excitement to the first week of November on the 5th. Temperatures dropped well below normal in all regions of the state, while thunderstorms produced heavy rains in places along the Gulf Coast ahead of the cold front. Downpours were confined mainly to Brazoria, Galveston and Matagorda Counties. Although Galveston officially reported 3.15" of rain on the 5th, other parts of the city received about 6 inches of rain in just four hours, accompanied by wind gusts of 50 mph. Severe flooding resulted from a combination of the rain and a high tide.

Another cold front traversed Texas on the 9th and 10th, helping to generally characterize the second week as cold and wet. Nearly all regions of the state received some form of precipitation from the 10th to the 13th. The entire Eastern half of Texas received at least one to two inches of precipitation, with Southeast portions observing over 2 inches during these few days. The Panhandle had average daily temperature departures of about -16°F throughout the week, while the entire state had departures averaging -10°F. Amarillo (31°F) and Austin (47°F) each broke records for the lowest maximum temperature on the 10th and 11th respectively. On the 12th, Waco set a new daily precipitation record when they observed 0.86" of rain.

The cold air mass behind November's third cold front brought much drier conditions to the entire state for the third week. High pressure and clear skies dominated the weather, producing beautiful fall days in which people enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities after the rain days of the previous week. Dalhart recorded the lowest temperature in November for Texas (14°F) on the 16th, the same day on which Dallas tied their record low temperature of 24°F.

The final week of November arrived and the official end of the 1997 hurricane season approached (November 31) with only seven named storms in the Atlantic Basin -- a very quiet year which many attribute to El Nino. For Texans, the last week brought a change of pace with regards to temperature. Warmer than normal temperatures across the entire state was in contrast to the cool weather of the previous three weeks. More thunderstorms rolled in on the 29th across East Texas, causing traffic accidents in Dallas and injuring two people in Conroe who were struck by lightning.

Monthly Summary for Selected Cities

Monthly Extremes

New Monthly Records

Climatic Averages for December