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Texas Climate Report: May 1999

Temperatures across most of the state were near normal to slightly above normal for May of 1999. Mean monthly temperatures of two to three degrees below normal were found only in the Panhandle, while the Central and South Central regions experienced normal May temperatures. The greatest above normal departures were 2.4°F in El Paso and 2.5°F in Del Rio, and these two cities also recorded the smallest percentage of average precipitation, 8% and 15%, respectively. Except for Austin, most of the central portions of the state had below normal rainfall for May. North Texas and the Gulf Coast regions recorded above normal precipitation.

A cold front extending from a low pressure system in the Central Plains moved through Texas during the first week of May. Numerous reports of tornadoes occurred in the High Plains region on the 1st, and there were reports of hail as big as grapefruit in Sterling County on the 3rd. On the 4th, tornadoes were spotted in Van Zandt, Hunt, Rains, Henderson, and Anderson counties in the northeastern part of the state. These storms were part of the same system that caused the devastating tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area that same day. Temperatures records were set on the 4th and 5th in both Corpus Christi and Brownsville. On the 4th, Corpus Christi soared to 100°F, while Brownsville reached 99°F. Brownsville recorded 102°F on the 5th, breaking a 77-year record for that day by eight degrees.

Another cold front, this time associated with a low in the Northern Plains, passed across Texas from the 10th to the 13th. On the 11th there were reports of large hail in the Central and North Central regions, and tornadoes touched down in San Saba and Mason counties, the latter causing six injuries. Corpus Christi and the surrounding counties experienced hail and wind damage as the front moved through.

At the end of the month, a front that moved into Texas on the 23rd and remained draped across Central and South Texas for nearly a week. On the 24th, heavy rains produced some localized flooding in West Texas and hail and high wind reports were numerous. A tornado was spotted in Castro County on the 25th, also accompanied by high winds and hail. In south Bexar County on the 26th, a man died when he was struck by lightning while exiting his vehicle. Three to four inch hail damaged cars and broke out windows in Hood County on the 27th.

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 84.1 ‑0.3 98 60.9 ‑0.2 41 72.5 ‑0.2 9 1.77 60% 0.91 14 255
Amarillo 74.6 ‑4.5 89 49.9 ‑1.7 38 62.3 ‑3.1 8 4.29 173% 2.72 132 56
Austin 85.6 +0.9 94 67.3 +0.8 59 76.4 +0.8 8 7.07 148% 3.95 0 361
Brownsville 89.4 +1.6 102 73.2 +1.2 64 81.3 +1.4 4 3.59 122% 2.84 0 513
College Station 85.4 +1.4 90 64.7 ‑0.3 50 75.0 +0.4 8 4.16 87% 2.07 0 319
Corpus Christi 87.0 +0.8 100 70.2 +0.7 62 78.6 +0.7 4 2.23 67% 1.47 0 429
Dallas‑Fort Worth 83.2 +0.3 91 64.3 +1.7 54 73.8 +1.0 15 6.91 142% 2.97 3 282
Del Rio 89.6 +1.4 100 69.9 +3.6 55 79.8 +2.5 4 0.29 14% 0.24 0 467
El Paso 87.9 +0.8 96 60.4 +3.9 49 74.1 +2.3 1 0.02 8% 0.02 1 291
Galveston 82.7 +2.9 86 72.3 +0.5 65 77.5 +1.7 9 3.56 99% 2.50 0 394
Houston 87.4 +2.8 93 65.8 +1.4 53 76.6 +2.1 9 4.10 78% 2.32 0 365
Lubbock 79.0 ‑4.1 94 55.2 ‑0.6 40 67.1 ‑2.3 5 3.38 144% 1.39 66 139
Midland 87.5 +0.1 99 60.1 +2.0 41 73.8 +1.0 7 1.10 56% 0.62 9 289
Port Arthur 85.3 +1.2 90 66.6 +0.3 54 75.9 +0.7 4 2.98 52% 2.61 0 349
San Angelo 86.9 ‑0.5 97 62.7 +1.6 45 74.8 +0.6 6 1.55 52% 0.68 3 313
San Antonio 85.8 +0.5 93 66.5 +0.8 53 76.1 +0.6 8 2.78 66% 1.59 0 352
Victoria 87.1 +1.8 94 67.0 ‑0.7 53 77.0 +0.4 7 6.43 143% 2.02 0 382
Waco 84.4 91 63.2 ‑1.0 46 73.8 ‑0.5 11 3.14 69% 1.49 1 282
Wichita Falls 82.6 ‑0.7 93 59.5 +0.4 47 71.1 ‑0.1 12 4.86 119% 1.56 9 204
Shreveport, LA 82.6 ‑0.6 89 61.4 ‑0.6 49 72.0 ‑0.6 13 3.96 76% 1.14 1 224
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 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.

may 1999 average temperatures
may 1999 average precipitation

Monthly Extremes

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
EL PASO INTL AP EL PASO 0.02
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
ROCKWALL ROCKWALL 10.61
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches)
Station County Value
SEMINOLE GAINES 5.40
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 59.2
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 85.8
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
SILVERTON BRISCOE 72.6
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 101.7
Highest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
FALCON DAM STARR 111
RIO GRANDE CITY STARR 111
Lowest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 50
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 44.5
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT ISABEL CAMERON 76.2
Highest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT ISABEL CAMERON 81
Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
GLEN ROSE 2 W SOMERVELL 29

New Monthly Records

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
HUDSPETH RIVER RANCH VAL VERDE 0.32 0.35 (1998) 11
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ANDICE 2 SW WILLIAMSON 8.46 8.22 (1975) 30
HART CASTRO 6.41 5.34 (1955) 42
MULESHOE NWR BAILEY 6.36 5.36 (1988) 18
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BRAVO HARTLEY 4.59 3.19 (1996) 58
CRANE 2E CRANE 3.03 2.05 (1989) 39
HOUSTON DEER PARK HARRIS 4.02 3.70 (1981) 51
HART CASTRO 3.66 3.31 (1991) 42
LAJITAS BREWSTER 1.30 1.20 (1991) 21
OLTON LAMB 3.80 3.00 (1994) 43
SEMINOLE GAINES 5.40 5.02 (1954) 73
TULIA SWISHER 3.17 2.72 (1949) 52
TYLER SMITH 2.98 2.84 (1986) 16
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BRAVO HARTLEY 60.2 60.2 (1983) 29
GLEN ROSE 2 W SOMERVELL 66.4 66.6 (1994) 33
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BRAVO HARTLEY 74.6 74.7 (1995) 31
SILVERTON BRISCOE 72.6 74.6 (1992) 35
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 84.5 84.2 (1989) 11
Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
HARLINGEN RIO GRANDE AP CAMERON 103 102 (1953) 12
BROWNSVILLE INTL AP CAMERON 102 102 (1974) 118
MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP HIDALGO 110 107 (1984) 39
ALICE JIM WELLS 108 108 (1927) 70
BENAVIDES 2 DUVAL 108 107 (1995) 26
BISHOP NUECES 106 104 (1948) 16
MCALLEN HIDALGO 109 106 (1974) 53
PORT MANSFIELD WILLACY 101 98 (1973) 38
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 105 100 (1998) 13
WESLACO HIDALGO 105 105 (1945) 73
Lowest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BISHOP NUECES 75 76 (1944) 16
TURKEY HALL 57 57 (1973) 28
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
GLEN ROSE 2 W SOMERVELL 50.5 50.6 (1993) 34
PINE SPRINGS CULBERSON 50.7 51.8 (1987) 10
TOLEDO BEND DAM NEWTON 54.7 56.2 (1988) 24
Highest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BIG LAKE 2 REAGAN 73 73 (1998) 34
PARIS LAMAR 75 75 (1998) 96
PORT ISABEL CAMERON 81 81 (1933) 62
STERLING CITY STERLING 75 75 (1974) 27
Lowest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
GLEN ROSE 2 W SOMERVELL 29 30 (1994) 34
TOLEDO BEND DAM NEWTON 40 40 (1996) 24

Climatic Averages for June

  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 91.4 110 (1907) 68.9 44 (1919) 2.86 9.60 (1961) 4.35 (1941) 19.0 0.0 6.0 0 456
Amarillo 87.6 108 (1998) 60.7 38 (1917) 3.70 10.73 (1965) 6.15 (1960) 12.8 0.0 8.9 6 279
Austin 91.1 108 (1998) 71.5 51 (1926) 3.72 14.96 (1981) 8.65 (1941) 20.8 0.0 6.8 0 489
Brownsville 91.0 103 (1918) 74.9 56 (1919) 2.73 13.80 (1887) 8.18 (1942) 22.9 0.0 6.3 0 540
College Station 90.3 108 (1901) 71.0 53 (1970) 3.68 15.03 (1905) 6.70 (1905) 19.7 0.0 6.5 0 471
Corpus Christi 90.4 106 (1998) 73.4 56 (1919) 3.38 13.35 (1973) 8.26 (1924) 19.4 0.0 6.6 0 507
Dallas‑Fort Worth 91.9 113 (1980) 70.0 48 (1903) 2.98 11.58 (1928) 4.14 (1928) 19.5 0.0 6.4 0 480
Del Rio 93.6 112 (1988) 71.7 49 (1919) 2.11 13.71 (1935) 8.88 (1935) 24.7 0.0 5.2 0 531
El Paso 96.5 114 (1994) 64.3 46 (1988) 0.67 3.18 (1984) 1.82 (1897) 26.0 0.0 3.1 0 462
Galveston 85.0 99 (1918) 77.2 57 (1903) 4.44 15.49 (1919) 12.56 (1961) 1.1 0.0 7.2 0 483
Houston 90.1 103 (1980) 70.6 52 (1970) 4.96 16.28 (1989) 10.35 (1989) 18.4 0.0 8.5 0 462
Lubbock 90.0 114 (1994) 64.3 39 (1917) 2.75 7.95 (1967) 5.70 (1967) 16.9 0.0 6.7 0 366
Midland 93.4 116 (1994) 65.7 47 (1983) 1.55 5.10 (1940) 3.95 (1940) 20.9 0.0 5.2 0 438
Port Arthur 89.4 106 (1902) 72.0 53 (1903) 5.59 18.90 (1989) 10.20 (1961) 17.1 0.0 7.9 0 471
San Angelo 92.7 110 (1994) 66.4 40 (1912) 2.33 6.01 (1982) 2.86 (1961) 21.0 0.0 5.4 0 435
San Antonio 91.8 107 (1998) 72.6 48 (1919) 3.81 11.95 (1986) 6.30 (1986) 20.7 0.0 6.4 0 516
Victoria 90.7 107 (1934) 72.7 54 (1919) 4.89 12.68 (1973) 9.30 (1977) 20.1 0.0 7.5 0 501
Waco 92.0 109 (1980) 70.9 52 (1964) 3.28 12.06 (1961) 6.40 (1938) 22.1 0.0 6.7 0 495
Wichita Falls 91.5 117 (1980) 68.0 50 (1928) 3.52 8.60 (1989) 5.36 (1985) 20.8 0.0 6.6 0 444
Shreveport, LA 89.7 104 (1936) 69.0 52 (1977) 4.29 17.11 (1989) 8.00 (1902) 17.2 0.0 7.9 0 432
Climatic averages are based on 1961-1990 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
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