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Texas Climate Report: December 1999

Precipitation was once again lacking for most of Texas as thirteen of the nineteen stations had below-normal measurements for December. The Edwards Plateau, Southern Texas, and the Lower Valley regions recorded the lowest percentages of their normal precipitation for the month. Midland recorded no precipitation for December, while Del Rio and San Angelo had only 2% and 11%, respectively. Due to two snow-producing cold fronts in the Panhandle, Amarillo received 416% and Lubbock received 349% of normal precipitation for the month. Temperatures also followed a now familiar pattern; all stations but El Paso and Midland recorded above-normal temperatures for December. The greatest departures from normal were in the Low Rolling Plains and North Central Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth was 4.6°F above normal, and Wichita Falls was 4.0°F above normal. Temperatures along the Gulf Coast were generally less than 1.0°F above normal.

The first week in December saw a cold front sweep across the state as a low pressure system moved out of the Rockies into the Plains on the 2nd. Numerous accounts of wind damage and hail were reported in North Central Texas. Krum in Denton County had a report of hail 2.75" in diameter while Perrin in Jack County reported 1.75" hail on the 2nd. As the low moved across the Panhandle, it left over ten inches of snow in some in some areas on the 4th. Cold air behind the front brought near-record lows to many stations in Texas, and a temperature of 19°F in Austin on the 6th shattered the previous low of 27°F for that date set in 1990.

Another low pressure system moved into the Panhandle on the 8th producing similar effects. Hail was reported in Taylor and Callahan counties and wind damage was reported in Kaufman County. Snow fell once again across much of the Panhandle on the 8th bringing much-needed moisture to that region. A low pressure system taking a more southerly route moved out of Mexico across the heart of Texas on the 11th and 12th. Significant rain fell on the 12th in much of North Central, East, and Southeast Texas, including Longview (2.10"), Waco (1.66"), Texarkana (1.43"), Tyler (1.22"), and Lufkin (0.99").

Most of Texas experienced unseasonably warm weather the last week of 1999. Alice had the nation's high of 82°F on the 29th, and along with Kingsville on the 30th and Cotulla on the 31st also had the nation's high of 86°F on those days.

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 61.9 +4.9 80 33.6 ‑0.3 18 47.7 +2.2 3 0.35 34% 0.33 531 0
Amarillo 50.3 +0.2 68 24.8 +1.1 13 37.5 +0.6 6 0.93 216% 0.52 844 0
Austin 67.5 +5.5 83 43.8 +2.6 32 55.6 +4.0 5 1.15 61% 0.75 304 18
Brownsville 73.5 +1.8 85 50.9 ‑1.5 38 62.2 +0.1 5 0.32 26% 0.14 133 58
College Station 66.5 +5.0 83 38.2 ‑3.0 26 52.4 +1.0 8 1.54 54% 0.81 397 12
Corpus Christi 71.8 +3.5 85 46.4 ‑2.0 31 59.1 +0.8 1 0.25 20% 0.25 206 33
Dallas‑Fort Worth 62.6 +5.1 79 40.4 +4.1 26 51.5 +4.6 5 2.55 139% 1.48 421 9
Del Rio 67.1 +3.6 86 40.7 +0.1 26 53.9 +1.8 1 0.01 2% 0.01 339 1
El Paso 55.7 ‑1.8 68 31.1 +0.4 18 43.4 ‑0.7 2 0.63 111% 0.62 662 0
Galveston 65.4 +3.5 76 50.8 ‑0.1 38 58.1 +1.7 8 5.81 166% 1.85 226 20
Houston 67.1 +2.4 80 40.3 ‑1.9 28 53.7 +0.2 7 2.20 64% 1.07 355 11
Lubbock 54.8 +0.7 70 26.9 ‑0.3 16 40.9 +0.3 4 1.05 198% 0.65 740 0
Midland 59.2 +0.8 76 30.9 +0.1 20 45.0 +0.4 0 0.00 0% 0.00 610 0
Port Arthur 66.6 +2.4 80 42.0 ‑2.3 32 54.3 9 4.03 84% 1.41 340 16
San Angelo 63.4 +4.4 82 34.9 +1.9 20 49.1 +3.1 1 0.09 11% 0.09 488 1
San Antonio 67.8 +4.3 83 40.1 ‑0.7 25 54.0 +1.8 7 0.52 34% 0.27 346 11
Victoria 70.2 +4.2 83 42.3 ‑2.9 27 56.2 +0.6 7 1.02 50% 0.60 283 17
Waco 63.7 +4.4 82 39.1 +1.8 24 51.4 +3.1 7 2.82 152% 1.86 426 12
Wichita Falls 60.3 +5.4 81 33.3 +2.5 22 46.8 +4.0 3 0.72 56% 0.36 558 1
Shreveport, LA 61.9 +3.4 78 37.3 24 49.6 +1.6 10 3.82 93% 1.29 477 6
*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.

dec 1999 average temperatures
dec 1999 average precipitation

Monthly Extremes

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
ODESSA SCHLEMEYER FLD ECTOR 0.00
MIDLAND INTL AP MIDLAND 0.00
BIG SPRING HOWARD 0.00
ACKERLY 4SE HOWARD 0.00
ALICE JIM WELLS 0.00
BALMORHEA REEVES 0.00
BATESVILLE ZAVALA 0.00
BIG SPRING HOWARD 0.00
BOERNE KENDALL 0.00
BRACKETTVILLE KINNEY 0.00
CAMP WOOD REAL 0.00
CANDELARIA PRESIDIO 0.00
CARRIZO SPRINGS 3W DIMMIT 0.00
CARTA VALLEY EDWARDS 0.00
CASTOLON BREWSTER 0.00
CATARINA DIMMIT 0.00
CHAPMAN RCH NUECES 0.00
CHISOS BASIN BREWSTER 0.00
COLORADO CITY MITCHELL 0.00
COPE RCH REAGAN 0.00
CORNUDAS SVC STN HUDSPETH 0.00
DELL CITY 5 SSW HUDSPETH 0.00
DERBY 1 S FRIO 0.00
DUNDEE 6 NNW ARCHER 0.00
EL INDIO MAVERICK 0.00
EXXON GAS PLANT KLEBERG 0.00
FORSAN HOWARD 0.00
FT STOCKTON PECOS 0.00
GAIL BORDEN 0.00
GARDEN CITY GLASSCOCK 0.00
JAYTON KENT 0.00
KNAPP 2 SW SCURRY 0.00
LAGUNA 3N UVALDE 0.00
LAJITAS BREWSTER 0.00
LEAKEY REAL 0.00
LENORAH MARTIN 0.00
MEDINA 1NE BANDERA 0.00
MEDINA LAKE MEDINA 0.00
MIDLAND 4 ENE MIDLAND 0.00
OAK CREEK LAKE COKE 0.00
PANTHER JUNCTION BREWSTER 0.00
PORT O CONNOR CALHOUN 0.00
ROCKSPRINGS 26SSW EDWARDS 0.00
ROSCOE NOLAN 0.00
SHEFFIELD PECOS 0.00
STERLING CITY 8 NE STERLING 0.00
STUDY BUTTE BREWSTER 0.00
TRENT TAYLOR 0.00
WATER VALLEY 11 NNE COKE 0.00
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
JASPER JASPER 6.76
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches)
Station County Value
FARMERSVILLE HUNT 4.70
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 34.2
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT ISABEL CAMERON 64.1
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DIMMITT 2 N CASTRO 48.7
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
RIO GRANDE CITY STARR 74.9
Highest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
RIO GRANDE CITY STARR 89
Lowest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
CHANNING 2 HARTLEY 27
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 17.8
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT ISABEL CAMERON 56.4
Highest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT ISABEL CAMERON 73
Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
BRAVO HARTLEY 8

New Monthly Records

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
MIDLAND INTL AP MIDLAND 0.00 0.00 (1996) 70
BIG SPRING HOWARD 0.00 0.00 (1996) 49
ACKERLY 4SE HOWARD 0.00 0.00 (1996) 38
ALICE JIM WELLS 0.00 0.00 (1997) 80
BALMORHEA REEVES 0.00 0.00 (1996) 72
BATESVILLE ZAVALA 0.00 0.00 (1993) 35
BELLVILLE 6 NNE AUSTIN 0.71 0.94 (1981) 20
BIG SPRING HOWARD 0.00 0.00 (1996) 49
BOERNE KENDALL 0.00 0.00 (1950) 104
BRACKETTVILLE KINNEY 0.00 0.00 (1985) 88
CAMP WOOD REAL 0.00 0.00 (1973) 48
CANDELARIA PRESIDIO 0.00 0.00 (1998) 57
CARRIZO SPRINGS 3W DIMMIT 0.00 0.00 (1985) 67
CARTA VALLEY EDWARDS 0.00 0.00 (1990) 32
CASTOLON BREWSTER 0.00 0.00 (1996) 23
CATARINA DIMMIT 0.00 0.00 (1997) 36
CHAPMAN RCH NUECES 0.00 0.00 (1997) 39
CHISOS BASIN BREWSTER 0.00 0.00 (1996) 53
COLORADO CITY MITCHELL 0.00 0.00 (1996) 69
COPE RCH REAGAN 0.00 0.00 (1996) 51
CORNUDAS SVC STN HUDSPETH 0.00 0.00 (1996) 55
DACUS MONTGOMERY 0.89 0.97 (1980) 46
DELL CITY 5 SSW HUDSPETH 0.00 0.00 (1998) 19
DERBY 1 S FRIO 0.00 0.04 (1985) 20
DUNDEE 6 NNW ARCHER 0.00 0.00 (1951) 71
EL INDIO MAVERICK 0.00 0.00 (1985) 22
FORSAN HOWARD 0.00 0.00 (1996) 50
FT STOCKTON PECOS 0.00 0.00 (1996) 54
GAIL BORDEN 0.00 0.00 (1996) 56
GARDEN CITY GLASSCOCK 0.00 0.00 (1996) 84
JAYTON KENT 0.00 0.00 (1998) 39
KNAPP 2 SW SCURRY 0.00 0.00 (1996) 58
LAJITAS BREWSTER 0.00 0.00 (1998) 19
LEAKEY REAL 0.00 0.00 (1993) 13
LENORAH MARTIN 0.00 0.00 (1996) 45
LUFKIN 2 ANGELINA 2.45 3.91 (1996) 10
MEDINA 1NE BANDERA 0.00 0.03 (1966) 31
MIDLAND 4 ENE MIDLAND 0.00 0.00 (1996) 74
MIDWAY 4 NE MADISON 0.67 0.68 (1980) 21
OAK CREEK LAKE COKE 0.00 0.00 (1998) 38
PANTHER JUNCTION BREWSTER 0.00 0.00 (1996) 45
PORT O CONNOR CALHOUN 0.00 0.00 (1989) 40
ROSCOE NOLAN 0.00 0.00 (1996) 64
SHEFFIELD PECOS 0.00 0.00 (1996) 36
SISTERDALE KENDALL 0.25 0.26 (1993) 10
STERLING CITY 8 NE STERLING 0.00 0.00 (1996) 20
TRENT TAYLOR 0.00 0.00 (1996) 55
UVALDE 3 SW UVALDE 0.10 0.10 (1990) 12
WATER VALLEY 11 NNE COKE 0.00 0.00 (1996) 37
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
FARMERSVILLE HUNT 4.70 3.80 (1998) 49
MIAMI ROBERTS 2.55 1.90 (1959) 91
PAMPA 2 GRAY 0.83 0.81 (1987) 36
UMBARGER RANDALL 1.77 1.64 (1987) 57
WOLFE CITY HUNT 4.30 3.79 (1971) 51
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
GAINESVILLE 5 ENE COOKE 47.3 47.0 (1991) 13
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 61.5 61.4 (1996) 10
SAN ANTONIO/SEAWORLD BEXAR 55.7 55.2 (1993) 10
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
DEKALB BOWIE 60.4 59.4 (1996) 19
GAINESVILLE 5 ENE COOKE 59.2 57.7 (1996) 13
JAYTON KENT 62.0 60.8 (1996) 26
LAKE FORK RSVR WOOD 60.9 60.1 (1992) 11
LANGTRY VAL VERDE 67.4 66.5 (1993) 17
REFUGIO 2 NW REFUGIO 72.8 71.1 (1996) 13
SAN ANTONIO/SEAWORLD BEXAR 68.3 65.6 (1996) 10
Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BARDWELL DAM ELLIS 82 82 (1995) 27
FREER DUVAL 88 88 (1990) 25
LAKE FORK RSVR WOOD 79 76 (1995) 11
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 79 79 (1998) 11
STILLHOUSE HOLLOW DAM BELL 83 83 (1995) 26
Highest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LAKE FORK RSVR WOOD 65 64 (1998) 11
MT VERNON FRANKLIN 66 66 (1966) 31
PARIS LAMAR 66 66 (1998) 93

Climatic Averages for January

  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 54.8 90 (1911) 30.8 ‑9 (1947) 1.03 4.35 (1968) 2.18 (1961) 0.0 17.7 4.5 688 0
Amarillo 49.0 83 (1927) 21.2 ‑11 (1984) 0.50 2.67 (1999) 1.74 (1968) 0.0 27.5 3.9 927 0
Austin 58.9 90 (1971) 38.6 ‑2 (1949) 1.71 9.21 (1991) 4.41 (1991) 0.0 8.7 7.3 514 12
Brownsville 68.9 93 (1971) 49.9 18 (1881) 1.56 5.11 (1945) 3.00 (1988) 0.1 1.2 8.0 232 59
College Station 58.4 90 (1999) 38.7 ‑3 (1949) 2.65 15.60 (1991) 5.63 (1991) 0.0 9.1 8.5 522 11
Corpus Christi 65.0 91 (1971) 45.3 14 (1962) 1.71 10.78 (1958) 6.38 (1958) 0.1 3.5 8.3 338 31
Dallas‑Fort Worth 54.1 93 (1911) 32.7 ‑2 (1949) 1.83 9.07 (1932) 3.15 (1998) 0.0 15.7 6.7 670 0
Del Rio 61.9 92 (1911) 38.5 12 (1918) 0.56 4.12 (1931) 1.91 (1994) 0.0 7.2 4.8 465 6
El Paso 56.1 80 (1970) 29.4 ‑8 (1962) 0.40 1.84 (1949) 1.28 (1896) 0.0 19.6 4.3 688 0
Galveston 58.3 78 (1989) 47.1 11 (1886) 3.26 10.75 (1991) 5.38 (1923) 0.0 2.5 9.6 396 15
Houston 61.0 87 (1902) 39.7 5 (1930) 3.29 13.11 (1891) 5.89 (1891) 0.0 6.5 10.0 468 16
Lubbock 52.9 87 (1914) 24.6 ‑16 (1963) 0.39 4.05 (1949) 1.96 (1939) 0.0 25.4 3.5 812 0
Midland 56.5 84 (1974) 28.5 ‑8 (1962) 0.40 4.99 (1939) 2.56 (1939) 0.0 20.4 3.4 698 0
Port Arthur 60.3 84 (1909) 41.5 11 (1930) 4.77 14.87 (1991) 6.94 (1998) 0.0 6.5 9.9 450 13
San Angelo 56.8 91 (1911) 30.6 1 (1947) 0.80 3.65 (1961) 2.49 (1961) 0.0 17.7 4.5 660 0
San Antonio 60.8 89 (1971) 37.9 0 (1949) 1.71 8.52 (1968) 3.18 (1968) 0.0 9.5 7.7 494 8
Victoria 62.8 88 (1971) 42.5 12 (1949) 2.16 7.76 (1991) 4.70 (1991) 0.0 5.3 8.0 403 21
Waco 56.1 90 (1943) 34.2 ‑5 (1949) 1.65 6.56 (1932) 4.79 (1998) 0.0 13.6 6.6 620 6
Wichita Falls 52.0 87 (1969) 27.6 ‑12 (1947) 1.04 4.48 (1968) 2.25 (1919) 0.0 21.6 4.4 781 0
Shreveport, LA 55.4 85 (1950) 34.8 ‑2 (1930) 3.88 12.96 (1999) 7.52 (1885) 0.0 14.1 9.4 623 6
Climatic averages are based on 1961-1990 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
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