Texas Climate Report: December 1998

1998 ended with most Texans dealing with slightly above normal mean monthly temperatures. Temperature departures from normal were very small at all of the first order stations in Texas this month. December precipitation was above normal in parts of Central and East Texas, with the areas in the west (High Plains, Trans Pecos, Edwards Plateau, and Southern regions) receiving below normal monthly precipitation. The month began somewhat warm and ended with the Lone Star State experiencing strong winter conditions. An interesting side note for 1998 was that 1998 in Austin tied the year of 1933 for the warmest year on record. The average temperature for 1998 in Austin was 70.8°F.

The first week of December brought warmer than normal temperatures to areas in Southern Texas. New daily high temperature records and high minimum temperature records were set on a number of occasions in such cities as: Galveston, Midland, Houston, College Station, and Austin. On December 3rd, late afternoon and evening thunderstorms dropped 1.48" of rain at Dallas/Fort Worth setting a new 24-hour rainfall record for that date. December 7th finally brought the first freezing temperature to Midland. The temperature barely dropped to 32°F, but when it did it set a new record for the date of the latest freeze at Midland.

An upper level storm system moved east across the state dropping heavy snow in West Texas and cold rain in north, central and southern areas between the 10th and the 11th. New 24-hour rainfall records were set at both Dallas/Fort Worth and Waco on the 10th when 1.13" and 2.57" of rain fell on both cities respectively. In Midland, 9.5" of snow had fallen to the ground by mid-afternoon on the 11th. This total set a record 24-hour snowfall total and a record for the most snow in any given month. This latter record breaks the old record of 9" for one month set in January 1985.

With storm systems tracking to the north of Texas during the middle of December, the weather was pleasant with milder than normal temperatures encompassing the state. This all changed however for the final 10 days of the month. A strong cold front pushed all the way through Texas by the 22nd bringing freezing temperatures down behind it. Roads were an icy glaze in North and Central Texas due to the frigid temperatures and a storm system responsible for freezing precipitation. Some holiday travelers had to be extremely cautious of the treacherous driving conditions, while others were left stranded because of road closures and long airport delays. Eventually by the very end of the month, the arctic air was receding with the temperatures in Texas cities beginning to climb back to more normal seasonal values.

Monthly Summary for Selected Cities

Monthly Extremes

New Monthly Records

Climatic Averages for January