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Texas Climate Report: October 1997

The Southern and Coastal regions of Texas received most of the attention in October, where heavy rains fell as persistent winds continued to supply Southern Texas with an abundance of Gulf moisture during the first two weeks of the month. Victoria (360%), Corpus Christi (398%) and Brownsville (470%) all experienced total monthly precipitation amounts which were over three times the expected values. In general, the Panhandle and West Texas were drier than normal, with El Paso receiving only 25% of the normal precipitation for October. Monthly mean temperatures were colder than normal throughout the Central, Southern and Plains regions of the state. West and North Texas temperatures were near to slightly above normal.

Warm conditions which characterized the end of September continued into the early part of October. Texas did not experience weather nearly as devastating as that of Hurricane Pauline in Mexico (8th and 9th), but persistent rainfall during the first and second weeks of the month across the Lone Star State did cause some flooding. With a persistent high pressure system set up to the east of Texas, and a low pressure system spinning in the west, strong southerly flow into the state resulted. These same winds which kept temperatures above normal during the beginning of October carried great amounts of moisture inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rainfall resulted along the Gulf Coast and flooding became a problem in many areas. Houston, Galveston, Austin, and Brownsville all received more than 4 inches of rain over the span of a couple days during the beginning of the second week, but concerns about conditions in Nueces County were much more serious during this same time period. Rainfall totals in and around Corpus Christi from the 9th to the 11th ranged from 8.65" to as much as 17.00". Flooding forced nearly 200 people from their homes in towns south of Corpus Christi.

A strong cold front pushed its way across Texas at the end of the second week, bringing behind it much cooler temperatures and long-awaited clear skies. After the passage of the front, average daily temperature departures of about +6°F quickly changed to -6°F as Texans brought out their jackets for the autumn weather.

Texas welcomed the drier conditions throughout the third week of October, but more severe weather would soon hamper the eastern sections of the state once again. A line of intense thunderstorms traversed East Texas on the 23rd dumping more than 2.50" of rain in North Texas and spawning tornadoes in the Upper Coast region. Scattered flooding and numerous traffic accidents resulted in Dallas as both road conditions and visibility became poor. Further south, at least four twisters touched down in the afternoon across Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend and Liberty counties, damaging homes and knocking out power in some areas. Cool and dry weather continued through the final week of October for most of the state, while the South received close to an inch of precipitation, adding to the already high monthly totals in their region.

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 78.6 +0.7 95 54.1 ‑0.7 28 66.4 5 2.54 101% 1.48 105 154
Amarillo 72.1 ‑0.4 92 44.2 ‑0.3 19 58.1 ‑0.4 6 0.74 54% 0.50 259 55
Austin 79.7 ‑2.4 95 61.1 +1.1 43 70.4 ‑0.7 12 5.42 158% 1.84 36 211
Brownsville 81.9 ‑3.4 90 66.5 +0.4 52 74.2 ‑1.5 13 13.03 465% 4.76 6 297
College Station 79.4 ‑0.8 92 59.7 +1.1 39 69.5 +0.1 12 4.87 128% 3.44 55 206
Corpus Christi 81.0 ‑2.9 91 65.1 +1.2 47 73.0 ‑0.9 13 12.03 398% 5.41 17 273
Dallas‑Fort Worth 77.1 ‑1.4 93 57.2 +1.4 40 67.1 ‑0.1 8 5.66 161% 1.94 89 163
Del Rio 81.1 ‑0.6 95 59.2 ‑0.5 37 70.2 ‑0.5 7 2.39 107% 0.75 38 206
El Paso 77.9 ‑0.5 93 49.3 ‑0.3 32 63.6 ‑0.4 4 0.19 25% 0.14 150 116
Galveston 77.7 +0.2 87 66.8 ‑1.2 47 72.3 ‑0.5 15 7.54 265% 1.71 20 252
Houston 77.9 ‑3.7 89 59.8 +2.2 41 68.9 ‑0.7 11 7.11 167% 2.10 58 187
Lubbock 74.2 ‑0.5 93 46.7 ‑1.4 26 60.5 ‑0.9 9 1.13 61% 0.44 214 80
Midland 78.1 +0.8 95 51.9 +1.3 31 65.0 +1.0 8 1.60 92% 0.83 119 125
Port Arthur 78.3 ‑1.9 91 61.3 +2.1 42 69.8 +0.1 8 1.95 45% 1.00 54 211
San Angelo 80.1 +1.3 96 52.9 ‑0.7 26 66.5 +0.3 6 0.82 34% 0.34 98 151
San Antonio 80.5 ‑1.2 94 59.8 +1.0 37 70.2 9 4.08 129% 1.70 44 212
Victoria 78.8 ‑3.6 90 61.8 +0.9 40 70.3 ‑1.4 15 12.44 360% 3.20 43 214
Waco 79.6 ‑0.7 95 57.1 +0.3 35 68.3 ‑0.2 9 2.12 63% 0.96 79 189
Wichita Falls 76.3 ‑0.6 97 52.4 +0.2 29 64.4 ‑0.2 11 2.19 80% 0.62 155 141
Shreveport, LA 78.0 ‑0.7 89 55.5 +1.2 38 66.8 +0.3 10 7.50 201% 3.56 95 157
Bold-italics indicate a value broke or tied the record from a previous year.
*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 temperattableure 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.

oct 1997 average temperatures
oct 1997 average precipitation

Monthly Extremes

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
CANDELARIA PRESIDIO 0.00
CRANE 2E CRANE 0.00
VALENTINE 10 WSW PRESIDIO 0.00
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
CORPUS CHRISTI NAS NUECES 21.81
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches)
Station County Value
CENTER SHELBY 6.75
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 54.6
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND CAMERON 77.1
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
FOLLETT LIPSCOMB 68.8
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
BOQUILLAS RS BREWSTER 88.7
Highest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
BOQUILLAS RS BREWSTER 103
CASTOLON BREWSTER 103
Lowest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
STRATFORD SHERMAN 26
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 38.8
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND CAMERON 71.7
Highest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND CAMERON 81
Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
BOYS RANCH OLDHAM 18
CANADIAN HEMPHILL 18
LIPSCOMB LIPSCOMB 18
MIAMI ROBERTS 18

New Monthly Records

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
CANDELARIA PRESIDIO 0.00 0.00 (1996) 56
CRANE 2E CRANE 0.00 0.00 (1965) 40
VALENTINE 10 WSW PRESIDIO 0.00 0.00 (1979) 59
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
CORPUS CHRISTI INTL AP NUECES 12.03 11.02 (1981) 111
CORPUS CHRISTI NAS NUECES 21.81 11.41 (1960) 51
KINGSVILLE NAAS KLEBERG 13.67 10.63 (1973) 74
BEEVILLE 5 NE BEE 10.26 8.90 (1983) 93
FLOUR BLUFF NUECES 20.70 8.49 (1995) 10
MATHIS 4 SSW JIM WELLS 15.82 10.62 (1973) 33
MERCEDES 6 SSE HIDALGO 9.82 9.20 (1995) 80
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 13.40 11.10 (1995) 12
RANSOM CANYON LUBBOCK 0.97 0.68 (1990) 10
REFUGIO 2 NW REFUGIO 14.70 8.36 (1986) 13
ROBSTOWN NUECES 13.79 10.32 (1973) 52
SINTON 3 NW SAN PATRICIO 16.87 13.98 (1960) 67
THREE RIVERS 8 NE LIVE OAK 5.64 5.27 (1994) 10
WELDER W'LIFE FOUND SAN PATRICIO 13.62 10.34 (1981) 33
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LONGVIEW 11 SE RUSK 5.15 4.50 (1996) 23
KOPPERL 5 NNE HILL 2.55 2.46 (1993) 10
NACOGDOCHES NACOGDOCHES 4.55 3.55 (1979) 24
THREE RIVERS 8 NE LIVE OAK 3.00 1.56 (1994) 10
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
PINE SPRINGS CULBERSON 57.6 59.1 (1990) 11
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
STERLING CITY STERLING 67.7 67.5 (1982) 20
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BAYTOWN HARRIS 79.2 79.5 (1993) 14
CATARINA DIMMIT 83.4 84.3 (1978) 19
PINE SPRINGS CULBERSON 69.2 70.3 (1996) 11
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 79.9 80.0 (1986) 12
REFUGIO 2 NW REFUGIO 81.5 81.7 (1986) 13
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 84.4 86.0 (1994) 11
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
STERLING CITY STERLING 83.5 83.5 (1992) 21
Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BARDWELL DAM ELLIS 98 96 (1979) 30
BURLESON JOHNSON 98 96 (1991) 11
DELL CITY 5 SSW HUDSPETH 97 97 (1994) 15
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 91 91 (1995) 12
EL PASO 32 ENE HUDSPETH 91 89 (1996) 14
FLOYDADA FLOYD 95 95 (1973) 47
FT DAVIS JEFF DAVIS 92 90 (1994) 22
GAINESVILLE 5 ENE COOKE 99 94 (1990) 11
GARDEN CITY GLASSCOCK 97 97 (1968) 23
HART CASTRO 94 92 (1992) 12
HORDS CREEK DAM COLEMAN 100 100 (1977) 42
KERRVILLE 3 NNE KERR 95 95 (1989) 23
NAVARRO MILLS DAM NAVARRO 98 98 (1989) 34
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 91 91 (1995) 12
PERSIMMON GAP BREWSTER 97 97 (1994) 14
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 90 89 (1986) 12
SAN SABA SAN SABA 100 100 (1979) 50
STAMFORD 1 JONES 98 98 (1994) 20
STERLING CITY STERLING 102 95 (1982) 21
STILLHOUSE HOLLOW DAM BELL 99 99 (1979) 30
Highest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
PRESIDIO PRESIDIO 74 73 (1934) 55
BIG SPRING HOWARD 71 70 (1969) 35
BAY CITY WTR WKS MATAGORDA 79 79 (1986) 53
BIG SPRING HOWARD 71 70 (1994) 44
BOYS RANCH OLDHAM 65 62 (1994) 20
CANDELARIA PRESIDIO 69 69 (1978) 32
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 75 75 (1991) 12
EL PASO 32 ENE HUDSPETH 64 61 (1994) 14
FT HANCOCK 8 SSE HUDSPETH 65 64 (1969) 22
GAINESVILLE 5 ENE COOKE 69 69 (1993) 11
LANGTRY VAL VERDE 77 77 (1986) 27
LIPSCOMB LIPSCOMB 66 66 (1982) 30
MARFA 2 PRESIDIO 62 62 (1986) 37
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 75 75 (1991) 12
PAMPA 2 GRAY 66 64 (1973) 32
PANDALE 11 NE VAL VERDE 72 72 (1990) 16
VALENTINE JEFF DAVIS 63 63 (1986) 18
Lowest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
SAN ANGELO MATHIS FLD TOM GREEN 26 26 (1993) 77
CATARINA DIMMIT 38 38 (1966) 19
FREER DUVAL 36 37 (1970) 25
JAYTON KENT 25 25 (1993) 23
ROSCOE NOLAN 26 26 (1993) 59
WINTERS 1 NNE RUNNELS 28 28 (1980) 29

Climatic Averages for November

  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 66.3 92 (1980) 43.4 13 (1887) 1.48 5.82 (1913) 2.43 (1975) 0.1 4.6 4.6 317 14
Amarillo 59.7 87 (1980) 32.3 0 (1976) 0.69 5.09 (1905) 3.01 (1905) 0.0 14.5 3.6 570 0
Austin 71.8 91 (1951) 49.9 20 (1976) 2.37 7.99 (1907) 5.09 (1974) 0.0 0.8 7.2 175 52
Brownsville 78.3 98 (1906) 59.0 27 (1911) 1.51 7.69 (1986) 4.08 (1986) 0.5 0.0 5.3 50 161
College Station 70.1 94 (1921) 49.4 19 (1976) 3.15 13.06 (1907) 5.56 (1907) 0.0 1.3 7.3 204 48
Corpus Christi 75.8 98 (1988) 55.6 28 (1993) 1.59 8.64 (1888) 4.61 (1892) 0.4 0.2 5.5 95 116
Dallas‑Fort Worth 66.8 89 (1989) 45.4 19 (1950) 2.29 7.94 (1918) 4.72 (1918) 0.0 2.3 6.0 275 11
Del Rio 71.7 96 (1988) 49.0 17 (1906) 0.92 4.54 (1913) 2.87 (1914) 0.3 1.0 4.4 171 33
El Paso 66.4 87 (1983) 38.4 1 (1976) 0.44 2.50 (1906) 1.19 (1943) 0.0 7.8 3.1 378 0
Galveston 69.3 85 (1988) 59.0 26 (1911) 3.37 16.18 (1940) 9.01 (1940) 0.0 0.1 7.2 123 99
Houston 72.4 89 (1989) 49.6 19 (1976) 3.79 14.10 (1943) 10.83 (1943) 0.0 1.2 8.1 181 61
Lubbock 63.2 89 (1916) 36.5 ‑1 (1957) 0.75 2.67 (1968) 1.57 (1968) 0.0 9.9 3.7 456 0
Midland 66.2 90 (1996) 38.9 10 (1938) 0.69 2.32 (1968) 2.16 (1975) 0.0 6.3 3.3 377 5
Port Arthur 71.3 90 (1905) 51.2 22 (1976) 4.85 22.74 (1902) 7.70 (1946) 0.0 0.8 7.8 177 63
San Angelo 68.2 93 (1980) 42.6 12 (1911) 1.08 3.55 (1968) 2.16 (1975) 0.2 5.1 4.1 299 11
San Antonio 71.9 94 (1988) 48.8 21 (1976) 2.62 6.79 (1907) 4.87 (1977) 0.1 1.8 6.6 180 42
Victoria 73.4 93 (1988) 52.4 24 (1976) 2.45 8.68 (1982) 6.63 (1982) 0.2 0.6 6.5 147 84
Waco 68.8 92 (1988) 46.6 17 (1976) 2.43 10.36 (1902) 4.26 (1952) 0.1 1.9 6.6 243 24
Wichita Falls 64.2 89 (1988) 40.6 14 (1950) 1.54 7.39 (1902) 3.15 (1902) 0.0 6.3 4.9 383 0
Shreveport, LA 68.0 88 (1984) 45.3 16 (1976) 4.45 10.81 (1987) 6.51 (1987) 0.0 2.7 8.1 264 15
Climatic averages are based on 1961-1990 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
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