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Texas Climate Report: May 2005

The month of May was another relatively dry month across most of Texas, though conditions were not parched as they were throughout the month of April. The first week of May began on a cool note across the entire state, especially in the High Plains regions of Texas. In fact, conditions in Amarillo turned wintry with Amarillo receiving 4.7" of May snowfall. Also, the first morning of the month saw Austin Bergstrom record its all-time lowest May temperature of 42°F.

Severe weather was widespread on the 8th, bringing numerous reports of large hail including 4.25" diameter hail in Mason County. The following day saw hail of the same size reported just one county to the east in Llano County. The most active day of tornadoes to date in the Lone Star state was on the 12th, with all twelve tornado reports concentrated in the panhandle. Four more tornadoes were reported the next day in the panhandle.

Temperatures turned downright hot throughout Texas the weekend of the 21st and 22nd, reaching triple digits in numerous locations. The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport broke records for high temperatures on both the 21st (99°F) and 22nd (98°F) and El Paso reached 105°F on the 23rd, breaking the previous daily record by 5°F. In addition, both Laredo and Wichita Falls reached 103°F on the 22nd.

After the mini-heat wave subsided, temperatures actually dipped below normal again across much of the state, specifically in West Texas. The high in Amarillo on the 26th was 64°F and on the 27th the high was 72°F in El Paso, both about 30°F cooler than a few days earlier.

The month of May went out with a bang with a severe weather outbreak in the High Plains, Low Rolling Plains, and Edwards Plateau regions. There were seven tornadoes and twenty reports of large hail (2”+ in diameter), and two reports of very high wind (65 knots+) in these regions altogether, with 68 more reports of hail and 25 more reports of wind gusts.

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 81.5 ‑3.2 98 60.7 ‑0.3 43 71.1 ‑1.7 11 2.95 104% 0.69 43 239
Amarillo 75.5 ‑3.1 95 52.5 +0.8 32 64.0 ‑1.2 9 2.65 106% 1.09 128 104
Austin 84.8 97 64.3 ‑1.1 46 74.5 ‑0.6 7 3.13 62% 1.47 5 309
Brownsville 88.5 +1.6 100 70.7 ‑0.9 59 79.6 +0.3 3 1.17 47% 0.72 0 460
College Station 85.0 ‑0.3 96 64.7 ‑0.6 47 74.9 ‑0.4 7 2.48 49% 1.48 4 316
Corpus Christi 86.4 +0.8 94 68.4 ‑1.1 52 77.4 ‑0.1 4 1.90 55% 0.95 0 394
Dallas‑Fort Worth 82.9 ‑0.3 99 64.0 +1.0 49 73.5 +0.4 8 3.35 65% 1.60 24 294
Del Rio 86.9 ‑1.8 98 66.5 ‑0.2 52 76.7 ‑1.0 6 2.49 108% 1.00 0 370
El Paso 87.7 +1.0 105 60.2 ‑0.4 47 74.0 +0.3 5 0.93 245% 0.63 9 298
Galveston 82.3 +0.9 92 70.9 ‑1.4 57 76.6 ‑0.3 4 1.49 40% 1.23 0 369
Houston 85.9 +0.4 96 64.7 ‑1.4 47 75.3 ‑0.5 5 6.06 118% 3.67 3 329
Lubbock 80.8 ‑2.0 101 57.2 +1.6 40 69.0 ‑0.2 7 2.24 97% 1.30 80 210
Midland 84.2 ‑2.6 104 58.9 +0.1 44 71.6 ‑1.2 7 1.73 97% 0.65 49 261
Port Arthur 86.5 +2.2 98 64.1 ‑2.3 47 75.3 ‑0.1 5 2.69 46% 1.91 3 332
San Angelo 83.9 ‑1.7 100 60.5 ‑0.1 42 72.2 ‑0.9 11 4.43 143% 1.48 27 259
San Antonio 85.2 ‑0.8 94 64.8 ‑0.7 49 75.0 ‑0.8 8 2.97 63% 1.34 2 317
Victoria 86.0 +0.9 93 64.4 ‑3.7 45 75.2 ‑1.4 4 4.74 93% 1.91 4 328
Waco 84.0 ‑0.8 99 62.7 ‑0.6 43 73.4 ‑0.7 10 3.64 82% 1.34 14 281
Wichita Falls 81.8 ‑1.7 101 60.8 +1.5 39 71.3 ‑0.1 12 3.22 82% 0.78 53 256
Shreveport, LA 84.5 +1.3 95 61.3 ‑1.4 45 72.9 ‑0.1 5 0.73 14% 0.43 19 270
Bold-italics indicate a value broke or tied the record from a previous year.
*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.

may 2005 average temperatures
may 2005 average precipitation

Monthly Extremes

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
LA JOYA HIDALGO 0.00
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
RUNGE KARNES 8.30
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches)
Station County Value
LEXINGTON LEE 5.15
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
VEGA 2 NW OLDHAM 61.1
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 82.8
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
VEGA 2 NW OLDHAM 73.4
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 97.6
Highest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
WINKLER CO AP WINKLER 112
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 112
Lowest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
OLTON LAMB 39
VEGA 2 NW OLDHAM 39
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PANHANDLE CARSON 47.0
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND CAMERON 72.6
Highest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
EL PASO INTL AP EL PASO 79
Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
BORGER HUTCHINSON 29
BUSHLAND 1 WSW POTTER 29
PANHANDLE CARSON 29

New Monthly Records

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LONGVIEW GREGG 0.37 0.44 (1988) 103
MT VERNON FRANKLIN 0.65 1.14 (1998) 38
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
EL PASO 32 ENE HUDSPETH 3.23 1.81 (1992) 22
FT MCKAVETT MENARD 6.37 3.96 (1882) 10
ROCKSPRINGS 26SSW EDWARDS 6.82 5.56 (2001) 10
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
CHEAPSIDE GONZALES 2.54 2.40 (1999) 12
EL PASO 32 ENE HUDSPETH 1.09 0.70 (1991) 22
FT MCKAVETT MENARD 3.75 1.60 (2001) 10
LEAKEY REAL 1.88 1.40 (1989) 16
MENARD MENARD 4.35 3.91 (1988) 99
ROCKSPRINGS 26SSW EDWARDS 3.38 2.50 (2001) 10
SHEFFIELD PECOS 2.72 2.10 (1990) 43
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
FT MCKAVETT MENARD 70.0 70.0 (1882) 13
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
GRAHAM YOUNG 77.1 77.1 (1954) 80
COLORADO CITY MITCHELL 80.2 80.5 (1994) 57
FT MCKAVETT MENARD 81.5 82.3 (1882) 13
LAKE ALAN HENRY GARZA 79.1 79.3 (1997) 12
PAINT ROCK CONCHO 82.5 82.6 (1992) 39
PLAINS YOAKUM 78.9 79.8 (1982) 43
PUTNAM CALLAHAN 79.9 80.1 (1979) 42
WINTERS 1 NNE RUNNELS 80.7 80.7 (1994) 37
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
MT PLEASANT TITUS 89.6 88.2 (1987) 60
Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
WINKLER CO AP WINKLER 112 112 (2003) 60
EL PASO INTL AP EL PASO 105 104 (1951) 118
ATHENS HENDERSON 97 97 (1998) 45
BAYTOWN HARRIS 96 96 (1998) 22
BEAUMONT RSCH CTR JEFFERSON 98 98 (1998) 41
CORNUDAS SVC STN HUDSPETH 103 103 (1969) 35
CROCKETT HOUSTON 100 100 (1911) 69
DEWEYVILLE NEWTON 98 96 (1998) 19
EL PASO 32 ENE HUDSPETH 101 101 (2000) 22
FT HANCOCK 8 SSE HUDSPETH 107 106 (2000) 29
GAINESVILLE 5 ENE COOKE 98 98 (2003) 19
JACKSONVILLE CHEROKEE 97 96 (1977) 42
KENT 8 SE JEFF DAVIS 100 100 (2003) 14
LA TUNA 1 S EL PASO 105 105 (1951) 55
LAKE FORK RSVR WOOD 98 96 (2003) 17
LAKE TAWAKONI RAINS 98 98 (2003) 29
MT LOCKE JEFF DAVIS 96 96 (2000) 62
MT PLEASANT TITUS 106 99 (1998) 60
MT VERNON FRANKLIN 97 97 (2003) 35
ORANGE 9 N ORANGE 98 96 (1998) 19
PINE SPRINGS CULBERSON 97 94 (1996) 14
TERLINGUA RCH BREWSTER 105 104 (2003) 13
TORNILLO 2 SSE EL PASO 104 103 (1996) 24
VALENTINE JEFF DAVIS 101 101 (2003) 22
WHITNEY DAM BOSQUE 101 101 (2003) 54
Lowest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ACTON RCH CROCKETT 65 65 (1994) 14
ARCHER CITY ARCHER 51 53 (1978) 37
ASPERMONT STONEWALL 49 51 (1990) 39
BALMORHEA REEVES 52 52 (1935) 76
BOYS RANCH OLDHAM 46 46 (1986) 24
BROWNFIELD 2 TERRY 43 47 (1978) 51
BURLESON JOHNSON 59 59 (2004) 18
CHANNING 2 HARTLEY 43 47 (1968) 23
COLORADO CITY MITCHELL 52 52 (1966) 57
COPPER BREAKS SP HARDEMAN 47 53 (1994) 16
CROSBYTON CROSBY 42 42 (1978) 109
DENVER CITY YOAKUM 41 50 (1990) 14
DIMMITT 2 N CASTRO 40 43 (1986) 42
FLOYDADA FLOYD 41 47 (1992) 48
FT DAVIS JEFF DAVIS 58 62 (1990) 28
GAIL BORDEN 47 52 (1990) 37
GUTHRIE KING 46 50 (1978) 39
HART CASTRO 40 48 (1992) 19
HEATH CANYON BREWSTER 72 73 (1997) 11
HOUSTON‑PORT HARRIS 70 71 (1992) 15
JAYTON KENT 46 49 (1978) 31
KENT 8 SE JEFF DAVIS 48 48 (1990) 14
LAKE ALAN HENRY GARZA 47 58 (2002) 12
LAKE KEMP BAYLOR 50 52 (1978) 30
LAMESA 1 SSE DAWSON 45 51 (1943) 72
LEVELLAND HOCKLEY 40 43 (1978) 58
MATADOR MOTLEY 43 43 (1953) 57
MEMPHIS HALL 44 44 (1935) 82
MORTON COCHRAN 40 41 (1978) 39
MULESHOE NWR BAILEY 40 45 (1986) 26
OLTON LAMB 39 45 (1986) 33
PADUCAH COTTLE 46 49 (1978) 46
PADUCAH 15 S KING 47 58 (2002) 10
PERSIMMON GAP BREWSTER 63 66 (1992) 19
PINE SPRINGS CULBERSON 47 55 (1990) 14
PLAINS YOAKUM 41 43 (1978) 43
POST GARZA 45 48 (1978) 40
QUANAH 2 SW HARDEMAN 46 46 (1917) 97
ROTAN FISHER 51 52 (1978) 41
SAM RAYBURN DAM JASPER 60 60 (1978) 38
SANFORD DAM HUTCHINSON 49 50 (2004) 11
SEMINOLE GAINES 44 46 (1935) 75
SEYMOUR BAYLOR 48 52 (1978) 80
SILVERTON BRISCOE 40 40 (1978) 41
SPUR DICKENS 45 45 (1917) 71
TOWN BLUFF DAM TYLER 63 63 (1994) 51
STAMFORD 1 JONES 52 52 (1990) 28
TERLINGUA RCH BREWSTER 68 69 (1997) 13
TULIA SWISHER 40 40 (1978) 57
TURKEY HALL 43 57 (1999) 34
VERNON WILBARGER 47 51 (1990) 57
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
BAY CITY WTR WKS MATAGORDA 62.7 63.1 (1954) 59
KARNES CITY 2 N KARNES 61.5 62.1 (1993) 25
PROCTOR RSVR COMANCHE 56.3 56.7 (1976) 41
REFUGIO 2 NW REFUGIO 64.3 64.4 (1988) 16
SAN ANTONIO/SEAWORLD BEXAR 62.2 62.2 (1993) 15
Highest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
EL PASO INTL AP EL PASO 79 79 (2000) 125
ARLINGTON SIX FLAGS TARRANT 77 76 (2004) 17
FT HANCOCK 8 SSE HUDSPETH 71 70 (2000) 26
MT LOCKE JEFF DAVIS 70 70 (2003) 60
TORNILLO 2 SSE EL PASO 71 71 (2000) 24
Lowest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LONGVIEW 11 SE RUSK 45 45 (1997) 29
VICTORIA RGNL AP VICTORIA 45 45 (1954) 95
HONDO MUNI AP MEDINA 44 45 (1979) 29
AUSTIN BERGSTROM AP TRAVIS 42 44 (1992) 56
PALESTINE ANDERSON 40 40 (1992) 71
BAY CITY WTR WKS MATAGORDA 43 43 (1954) 59
BORGER HUTCHINSON 29 29 (1954) 55
BRECKENRIDGE STEPHENS 36 36 (1979) 71
ELGIN BASTROP 45 45 (1984) 42
FAIRFIELD 3 W FREESTONE 39 42 (1984) 34
GRANGER DAM WILLIAMSON 46 46 (1994) 25
HEBBRONVILLE JIM HOGG 47 47 (1917) 39
HICO HAMILTON 37 38 (1954) 79
HOUSTON‑PORT HARRIS 51 53 (1992) 15
KARNES CITY 2 N KARNES 46 49 (2004) 25
LA GRANGE FAYETTE 45 45 (1992) 41
LAKE ALAN HENRY GARZA 41 42 (2004) 12
LAVON DAM COLLIN 39 40 (1997) 49
LEXINGTON LEE 42 42 (1981) 38
LYTLE 3 W MEDINA 46 46 (1984) 26
PAMPA 2 GRAY 30 30 (1978) 41
PANHANDLE CARSON 29 29 (1970) 43
PLEASANTON ATASCOSA 44 46 (1996) 15
PROCTOR RSVR COMANCHE 35 41 (2004) 41
REFUGIO 2 NW REFUGIO 47 47 (1992) 16
SANFORD DAM HUTCHINSON 30 37 (1994) 12
SAN ANTONIO/SEAWORLD BEXAR 50 50 (2004) 15
STEPHENVILLE 1 N ERATH 37 38 (1954) 54
TYLER SMITH 43 44 (1997) 22
WASHINGTON SP WASHINGTON 42 42 (1954) 53
WEATHERFORD PARKER 33 34 (1903) 102

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 91.1 110 (1907) 68.5 44 (1919) 3.06 9.60 (1961) 4.35 (1941) 18.7 0.0 6.4 0 442
Amarillo 87.4 108 (1998) 61.1 38 (1917) 3.28 10.73 (1965) 6.15 (1960) 12.8 0.0 8.3 7 285
Austin 90.9 108 (1998) 71.1 51 (1926) 3.81 14.96 (1981) 8.65 (1941) 20.8 0.0 7.5 0 495
Brownsville 90.5 103 (1918) 74.9 56 (1919) 2.93 13.80 (1887) 8.18 (1942) 24.2 0.0 6.6 0 545
College Station 91.7 108 (1901) 71.5 53 (1970) 3.79 15.03 (1905) 6.70 (1905) 20.9 0.0 7.4 0 497
Corpus Christi 90.2 106 (1998) 73.5 56 (1919) 3.53 13.35 (1973) 8.26 (1924) 20.6 0.0 6.7 0 520
Dallas‑Fort Worth 91.1 113 (1980) 70.7 48 (1903) 3.23 11.58 (1928) 4.14 (1928) 20.3 0.0 7.0 0 478
Del Rio 93.7 112 (1988) 72.1 49 (1919) 2.34 13.71 (1935) 8.88 (1935) 24.7 0.0 6.1 0 545
El Paso 95.3 114 (1994) 68.8 46 (1988) 0.87 3.18 (1984) 1.82 (1897) 25.9 0.0 3.5 0 497
Galveston 86.6 99 (1918) 77.8 57 (1903) 4.04 15.49 (1919) 12.56 (1961) 2.8 0.0 8.0 0 515
Houston 90.7 103 (1980) 71.8 52 (1970) 5.35 19.21 (2001) 11.02 (2001) 20.1 0.0 9.7 0 485
Lubbock 90.0 114 (1994) 64.1 39 (1917) 2.98 8.48 (2000) 5.70 (1967) 17.4 0.0 7.4 2 381
Midland 92.7 116 (1994) 66.4 47 (1983) 1.71 5.10 (1940) 3.95 (1940) 21.3 0.0 4.9 0 438
Port Arthur 89.4 106 (1902) 72.3 53 (1903) 6.58 18.90 (1989) 10.20 (1961) 16.6 0.0 9.2 0 480
San Angelo 90.8 110 (1994) 67.6 40 (1912) 2.52 6.01 (1982) 3.88 (1999) 20.0 0.0 6.2 0 442
San Antonio 91.4 107 (1998) 71.6 48 (1919) 4.30 11.95 (1986) 6.30 (1986) 20.6 0.0 7.7 0 505
Victoria 90.3 107 (1934) 73.3 54 (1919) 4.96 13.50 (2004) 9.30 (1977) 20.2 0.0 8.4 0 514
Waco 92.0 109 (1980) 70.6 52 (1964) 3.08 12.06 (1961) 6.40 (1938) 21.9 0.0 7.3 0 497
Wichita Falls 91.7 117 (1980) 67.8 50 (1928) 3.69 8.60 (1989) 5.36 (1985) 19.9 0.0 7.2 0 448
Shreveport, LA 89.8 104 (1936) 69.9 52 (1977) 5.05 17.11 (1989) 8.00 (1902) 17.7 0.0 8.6 0 436
Climatic averages are based on 1971-2000 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
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