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Texas Climate Report: February 2004

The month of February was characterized by cold and wet weather. Half of the first order stations received over 10 days of measurable precipitation, and only Brownsville, Del Rio, El Paso, and San Antonio had below normal precipitation for the month. The month began with a cold front that passed over the state on the 4th and 5th. This brought rain to most of south and east Texas as well as near-freezing temperatures to most of the state. The next front came through on the 9th-11th and soaked most of south and east Texas. Houston, Galveston, Shreveport, and Austin received at least 2 inches of rain, and College Station and Port Arthur collected over 3 inches.

Following this front, an arctic air mass blanketed the Panhandle and West Texas regions on the 12th. Over the next week, temperatures across the state dropped into the teens, 20s and 30s, and northern Texas received heavy snowfall. Lubbock received 1.2", Waco received 2.3", Amarillo received 2.6", and Dallas received 3" of snow. After the arctic air moved out, a warm front brought temperatures into the 60s and 70s for most of the state. A series of cold fronts helped to keep things near their February normals until the next storm system hit on the 23rd. A low pressure system passing through the state on the 23rd-25th brought even more precipitation to most of the state. College Station, Houston, Lubbock, and Wichita Falls received at least 0.50"; Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Galveston, San Angelo, Victoria, and Waco all recorded at least 1.00"; Shreveport and Abilene accumulated at least 1.50" of rain for these days. The tail end of a cold front brought scattered rainfall across the central and northern parts of the state on the 28th and 29th, but temperatures remained at or above their February normals for the final week.

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 55.9 ‑4.8 80 34.0 ‑2.5 21 45.0 ‑3.6 7 2.90 257% 1.19 576 2
Amarillo 50.0 ‑4.1 80 25.1 ‑1.9 10 37.6 ‑3.0 7 1.42 258% 0.87 787 0
Austin 60.9 ‑4.2 76 42.6 ‑1.4 30 51.7 ‑2.9 12 3.73 187% 1.11 379 1
Brownsville 71.9 ‑0.3 84 52.5 ‑0.8 39 62.2 ‑0.5 6 0.79 67% 0.70 129 56
College Station 59.0 ‑6.5 75 41.9 ‑1.5 29 50.4 ‑4.1 14 5.91 248% 2.20 416 0
Corpus Christi 67.1 ‑2.6 79 48.9 ‑0.4 36 58.0 ‑1.5 7 2.14 116% 1.39 219 23
Dallas‑Fort Worth 54.6 ‑5.5 72 37.0 ‑1.7 25 45.8 ‑3.6 9 3.84 162% 1.19 549 0
Del Rio 66.5 ‑1.5 81 44.0 ‑0.1 27 55.2 ‑0.9 6 0.74 77% 0.40 280 5
El Paso 58.4 ‑5.0 75 33.2 ‑4.3 19 45.8 ‑4.7 2 0.05 13% 0.03 549 0
Galveston 60.6 ‑3.8 72 49.0 ‑2.5 36 54.8 ‑3.2 11 4.18 160% 1.39 287 0
Houston 62.0 ‑4.5 76 45.0 +0.7 32 53.5 ‑1.9 14 5.58 187% 1.60 328 1
Lubbock 53.9 ‑3.9 78 29.6 +0.7 12 41.7 ‑1.6 8 1.88 265% 0.77 670 0
Midland 56.2 ‑6.8 79 33.9 ‑0.2 16 45.1 ‑3.5 8 0.84 145% 0.32 570 0
Port Arthur 61.4 ‑3.9 76 44.4 ‑1.5 33 52.9 ‑2.7 13 6.46 193% 3.17 346 2
San Angelo 58.4 ‑5.1 79 35.9 ‑0.1 22 47.2 ‑2.5 8 1.72 146% 0.77 511 1
San Antonio 63.3 ‑3.8 79 42.0 ‑0.4 29 52.6 ‑2.1 10 1.73 99% 0.77 356 2
Victoria 65.1 ‑1.5 79 44.2 ‑2.5 31 54.7 ‑2.0 12 3.20 157% 1.17 303 10
Waco 56.3 ‑6.0 72 38.0 ‑1.3 26 47.1 ‑3.7 11 5.23 215% 2.42 511 0
Wichita Falls 53.1 ‑5.0 79 31.9 ‑1.5 18 42.5 ‑3.2 11 3.12 197% 1.08 646 0
Shreveport, LA 55.5 ‑6.5 75 37.9 ‑2.4 26 46.7 ‑4.5 16 7.91 188% 1.50 524 0
*Dep.: Departure of the monthly average temperature from the 1971-2000 monthly normal, which is provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
*Perc. Norm.: Monthly precipitation total divided by 1971-2000 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.

feb 2004 average temperatures
feb 2004 average precipitation

Monthly Extremes

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
LAJITAS BREWSTER 0.00
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
JASPER JASPER 12.33
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches)
Station County Value
JASPER JASPER 4.16
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 33.9
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
BROWNSVILLE INTL AP CAMERON 62.2
MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP HIDALGO 62.2
BROWNSVILLE CAMERON 62.2
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PAMPA 2 GRAY 49.2
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
LA JOYA HIDALGO 74.0
Highest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
LAJITAS BREWSTER 89
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 89
Lowest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
FRIONA PARMER 18
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 16.0
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT ISABEL CAMERON 53.9
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND CAMERON 53.9
Highest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
MC COOK HIDALGO 67
WESLACO HIDALGO 67
Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DALHART MUNI AP DALLAM 5
BUSHLAND 1 WSW POTTER 5
DALHART 6 SW HARTLEY 5
STRATFORD SHERMAN 5

New Monthly Records

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LAJITAS BREWSTER 0.00 0.00 (2001) 26
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ABERNATHY HALE 2.63 2.29 (1950) 58
CANDELARIA PRESIDIO 1.58 1.37 (1989) 62
CONROE MONTGOMERY 6.79 6.79 (1961) 78
DACUS MONTGOMERY 7.84 6.92 (1998) 49
DENVER CITY YOAKUM 3.40 1.68 (1987) 15
FRIONA PARMER 2.34 2.32 (1986) 61
HEMPHILL 6 NE SABINE 11.08 9.73 (1992) 11
LITTLEFIELD LAMB 2.87 1.54 (1975) 37
MULESHOE #1 BAILEY 2.25 1.77 (1978) 77
MULESHOE NWR BAILEY 2.05 0.98 (1987) 21
NORTHFIELD MOTLEY 3.18 3.15 (1998) 56
PINELAND SABINE 9.55 8.70 (1997) 28
SAM RAYBURN DAM JASPER 11.17 10.92 (1984) 37
SAN AUGUSTINE SAN AUGUSTINE 9.61 9.25 (1992) 35
TOWN BLUFF DAM TYLER 11.09 10.96 (1966) 45
VALLEY MILLS BOSQUE 4.93 4.39 (1993) 12
WILDWOOD TYLER 9.33 8.92 (1997) 12
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
STEPHENVILLE CLARK FLD ERATH 2.80 2.48 (1997) 64
COTULLA LA SALLE CO AP LA SALLE 3.52 2.94 (1991) 86
ACKER RCH MCMULLEN 1.60 1.45 (1993) 18
CHANNING 2 HARTLEY 1.05 0.58 (1971) 19
DENVER CITY YOAKUM 1.62 1.30 (1989) 15
FLAT CORYELL 2.44 2.34 (1997) 13
FRIONA PARMER 1.20 1.16 (1990) 61
LAREDO 2 WEBB 2.25 1.58 (1982) 40
LITTLEFIELD LAMB 0.94 0.91 (1990) 37
MORGAN MILL ERATH 3.36 2.77 (1986) 47
MULESHOE NWR BAILEY 1.25 0.59 (1989) 21
SANFORD DAM HUTCHINSON 1.00 0.75 (2001) 10
STEPHENVILLE 1 N ERATH 2.80 2.48 (1997) 64
VALLEY MILLS BOSQUE 3.03 1.90 (2003) 12
WILDWOOD TYLER 2.90 2.74 (1997) 12
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ARLINGTON SIX FLAGS TARRANT 44.5 45.2 (2002) 13
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 47.2 50.7 (2002) 18
EL PASO 32 ENE HUDSPETH 42.3 42.8 (1998) 18
FT WORTH WSFO TARRANT 45.2 45.5 (2003) 10
LAKE ALAN HENRY GARZA 43.5 43.9 (2003) 10
LAKE PALO PINTO PALO PINTO 43.6 44.4 (2002) 10
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 47.2 50.7 (2002) 18
TORNILLO 2 SSE EL PASO 45.1 45.1 (1985) 23
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ARLINGTON SIX FLAGS TARRANT 54.0 54.4 (2003) 13
DENVER CITY YOAKUM 55.5 56.0 (1993) 13
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 56.4 58.8 (1989) 18
FT WORTH WSFO TARRANT 54.3 54.6 (2003) 10
LAKE PALO PINTO PALO PINTO 54.9 56.4 (2003) 10
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 56.4 58.8 (1989) 18
TORNILLO 2 SSE EL PASO 60.4 62.1 (1998) 23
Lowest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
EL PASO 32 ENE HUDSPETH 26 32 (1997) 18
PINE SPRINGS CULBERSON 24 27 (2002) 14
TORNILLO 2 SSE EL PASO 39 40 (1985) 23
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 38.0 39.2 (2002) 18
ELGIN BASTROP 35.0 35.2 (1978) 41
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 38.0 39.2 (2002) 18
Lowest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LAJITAS BREWSTER 20 20 (2002) 24
STUDY BUTTE BREWSTER 20 21 (2003) 10

Climatic Averages for March

  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 69.1 98 (1916) 43.8 9 (1948) 1.41 5.16 (1979) 2.78 (1943) 0.6 3.9 5.3 299 28
Amarillo 62.2 96 (1907) 33.6 ‑3 (1948) 1.13 4.14 (2000) 3.13 (1922) 0.1 14.4 5.4 542 2
Austin 72.5 98 (1971) 50.9 18 (1948) 2.14 7.23 (1926) 3.00 (1900) 0.6 0.8 7.9 163 59
Brownsville 78.0 106 (1984) 59.5 28 (1901) 0.93 6.46 (1903) 2.76 (1997) 1.6 0.1 4.2 45 179
College Station 72.6 96 (1946) 50.5 17 (2002) 2.84 8.03 (1926) 4.20 (1980) 0.1 1.2 8.1 149 42
Corpus Christi 75.8 102 (1989) 56.2 24 (1980) 1.74 7.69 (1903) 4.66 (1903) 1.1 0.3 5.1 77 121
Dallas‑Fort Worth 68.3 100 (1916) 46.4 10 (1943) 3.06 7.39 (2002) 4.43 (2002) 0.2 2.1 7.5 248 10
Del Rio 76.0 103 (1928) 51.6 19 (1922) 0.96 3.20 (1990) 2.33 (1935) 2.3 0.7 4.9 111 86
El Paso 70.2 93 (1907) 43.7 14 (1971) 0.26 2.26 (1958) 1.32 (1883) 0.0 4.4 2.2 272 8
Galveston 70.0 85 (1879) 58.2 26 (1980) 2.76 9.49 (1973) 8.10 (1973) 0.0 0.2 7.4 94 65
Houston 73.3 96 (1946) 51.3 21 (1943) 3.36 10.66 (1922) 7.47 (1972) 0.1 1.3 9.1 156 63
Lubbock 66.2 95 (1989) 36.2 ‑2 (1922) 0.76 3.56 (1941) 1.80 (1973) 0.2 8.6 4.1 419 7
Midland 70.9 97 (1946) 40.8 9 (1980) 0.42 2.86 (1970) 2.20 (1970) 0.5 4.9 2.6 302 15
Port Arthur 72.0 95 (1946) 52.4 23 (2002) 3.75 10.21 (1949) 6.04 (1979) 0.0 0.6 8.0 143 55
San Angelo 71.1 98 (1908) 43.3 8 (1980) 0.99 5.00 (1953) 4.65 (1953) 0.8 4.0 4.6 258 30
San Antonio 74.3 100 (1991) 49.9 19 (2002) 1.89 6.12 (1992) 3.59 (1992) 0.9 1.5 7.9 149 68
Victoria 73.4 98 (1939) 53.9 21 (2002) 2.25 11.61 (1997) 5.04 (1997) 0.4 0.5 7.0 113 84
Waco 70.2 100 (1971) 46.8 15 (1948) 2.48 8.38 (1905) 3.90 (1912) 0.3 2.1 7.9 235 39
Wichita Falls 67.2 100 (1971) 41.1 6 (1948) 2.27 6.29 (1999) 4.32 (1988) 0.7 5.5 6.4 354 19
Shreveport, LA 69.7 92 (1974) 47.2 15 (1943) 4.18 11.99 (1945) 5.43 (1945) 0.1 2.4 9.7 247 31
Climatic averages are based on 1971-2000 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
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