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Texas Climate Report: September 2009

The beginning of the month began just as August ended, hot and humid, with temperatures average to slightly above average across the state. During the second week of the month, an area of low pressure drew moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico, providing some much needed rain to many parts of Texas. The first two weeks of September saw some impressive rain totals, particularly in the Metroplex with some areas picking up more than 10 inches of total precipitation just to the south of town. As the third week summer came to a close, autumn officially began and temperatures started to have a crisper, fall-like feel. A cold front moved into the Texas, cooling temperatures down statewide in addition to bringing showers and thunderstorms to Central Texas, with McLennan County and areas just to the west reporting in excess of two inches of precipitation.

A cut off low reinforced the cooler weather as it moved very slowly and remained almost stationary for several days across Northeast Texas during the last part of the September. The system brought a continuous light to moderate rain to a large area in the Northeast part of the state. Northeast and North Central Texas did not particularly need the rain after a summer of above normal precipitation. However, September rains that fell to the South were much needed and did a great deal to improve the drought situation, though large long-term precipitation deficits remained in most of South Texas. For instance, the 6.27" of September precipitation in Corpus Christi was more than had fallen the first eight months of 2009 (4.10”) combined! As the month closed a high pressure system settled over most of Texas, with the month ending much like it began with warm and humid conditions. The first weekend of fall felt more like a summer weekend, with temperatures across much of the state topping out in the 90s.

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 83.5 ‑3.2 95 61.8 ‑2.6 49 72.6 ‑2.9 10 3.55 122% 1.60 11 247
Amarillo 79.7 ‑2.1 94 54.5 ‑1.8 39 67.1 ‑2.0 8 0.83 44% 0.35 52 123
Austin 87.7 ‑2.4 101 68.7 ‑0.1 58 78.2 ‑1.3 10 6.86 236% 2.39 5 411
Brownsville 90.1 +0.7 97 74.0 +1.4 63 82.0 +1.0 13 9.43 178% 2.72 0 517
College Station 87.3 ‑3.6 100 70.1 +1.6 60 78.7 ‑1.0 11 7.42 190% 2.37 0 416
Corpus Christi 89.5 ‑0.4 96 73.1 +1.5 61 81.3 +0.5 8 6.27 125% 3.11 0 497
Dallas‑Fort Worth 85.1 ‑2.6 96 67.2 55 76.1 ‑1.4 11 6.52 269% 3.62 0 340
Del Rio 88.7 ‑1.9 97 69.8 +0.4 57 79.2 ‑0.8 7 3.37 164% 1.52 1 437
El Paso 87.1 94 64.0 +0.3 55 75.5 +0.1 7 2.50 155% 0.80 2 325
Galveston 85.8 ‑0.7 91 74.9 ‑0.7 70 80.3 ‑0.8 8 5.24 91% 1.38 0 467
Houston 87.0 ‑2.3 94 71.0 +2.6 62 79.0 +0.1 9 4.68 108% 1.61 0 430
Lubbock 83.3 ‑0.1 96 57.5 ‑0.9 41 70.4 ‑0.5 6 2.46 96% 1.56 22 191
Midland 84.7 ‑1.4 95 60.5 ‑1.1 46 72.6 ‑1.3 6 2.44 106% 1.58 13 246
Port Arthur 85.9 ‑2.1 93 70.3 +0.9 62 78.1 ‑0.6 10 4.89 80% 1.76 0 401
San Angelo 86.4 ‑0.2 95 62.7 ‑0.3 49 74.5 ‑0.3 8 5.66 192% 2.50 0 294
San Antonio 87.6 ‑2.4 97 69.3 +0.5 57 78.4 ‑1.0 11 6.35 212% 2.02 7 416
Victoria 89.3 ‑0.6 99 70.5 +0.2 62 79.9 ‑0.2 9 6.44 129% 1.76 0 456
Waco 86.6 ‑3.5 101 68.0 +1.0 57 77.3 ‑1.3 12 8.24 286% 3.43 2 380
Wichita Falls 85.4 ‑2.1 100 63.4 ‑0.3 49 74.4 ‑1.2 10 4.09 128% 2.13 7 299
Shreveport, LA 84.7 ‑2.9 94 67.2 +0.8 52 75.9 ‑1.1 12 2.58 80% 0.94 0 337
*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.

sep 2009 average temperatures
sep 2009 average precipitation

Monthly Extremes

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
PECOS MUNI AP REEVES 0.00
VAN HORN CULBERSON 0.00
LENORAH MARTIN 0.00
OZONA CROCKETT 0.00
TELEGRAPH KIMBLE 0.00
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value
JARRELL WILLIAMSON 21.13
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches)
Station County Value
JARRELL WILLIAMSON 14.33
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DOG CANYON CULBERSON 59.3
Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP HIDALGO 85.2
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DOG CANYON CULBERSON 71.7
Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP HIDALGO 94.3
Highest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
LAREDO INTL AP WEBB 103
MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP HIDALGO 103
CASTOLON BREWSTER 103
LAJITAS BREWSTER 103
MC COOK HIDALGO 103
Lowest Maximum Temperature  (°F)
Station County Value
MARATHON BREWSTER 54
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DOG CANYON CULBERSON 46.9
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 76.4
Highest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
PORT ARANSAS NUECES 83
Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value
DOG CANYON CULBERSON 33
LIPSCOMB LIPSCOMB 33

New Monthly Records

Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
VAN HORN CULBERSON 0.00 0.00 (2000) 65
LENORAH MARTIN 0.00 0.00 (1998) 59
OZONA CROCKETT 0.00 0.00 (1999) 59
TELEGRAPH KIMBLE 0.00 0.00 (1960) 56
Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
DALLAS REDBIRD AP DALLAS 14.02 5.94 (2007) 10
BURNET MUNI AP BURNET 6.74 4.59 (2002) 11
SULPHUR SPRINGS HOPKINS 9.68 9.26 (1973) 95
FT WORTH ALLIANCE AP TARRANT 5.72 4.44 (2003) 11
TERRELL MUNI AP KAUFMAN 7.34 4.54 (2001) 10
ALVARADO 4NE JOHNSON 13.86 10.53 (2007) 19
ALVORD 3 N WISE 4.86 4.84 (1950) 10
ANDICE 2 SW WILLIAMSON 9.90 7.34 (1981) 41
AQUILLA 1 SSE HILL 8.36 4.89 (1995) 18
ARLINGTON SIX FLAGS TARRANT 9.50 9.33 (1970) 62
BENBROOK DAM TARRANT 10.25 10.06 (1964) 60
BRANDON HILL 9.96 6.77 (2007) 18
BRAZOS PALO PINTO 10.28 7.38 (1962) 68
BURLESON JOHNSON 14.19 5.63 (1995) 24
BURNET 9 WSW BURNET 5.95 4.20 (2006) 10
CALLIHAM MCMULLEN 10.23 8.51 (2003) 27
CLEBURNE JOHNSON 10.81 10.77 (1986) 99
COMMERCE 4SW HUNT 7.80 7.00 (1998) 14
CRANFILLS GAP BOSQUE 8.99 8.11 (2003) 18
CRAWFORD MCLENNAN 9.24 2.40 (2002) 10
CRESSON 3NW HOOD 8.53 7.69 (1970) 61
DRIPPING SPRINGS 6 E HAYS 9.58 6.99 (1991) 25
EMORY RAINS 11.44 8.56 (1973) 54
FEDOR LEE 11.60 10.85 (1967) 44
FLORENCE 3 SE WILLIAMSON 10.45 7.68 (1974) 42
FT MCKAVETT MENARD 4.72 3.47 (2002) 17
FT WORTH WSFO TARRANT 6.82 6.14 (1950) 19
GILMER 4 WNW UPSHUR 13.79 13.44 (1974) 79
HAWKINS WOOD 11.11 9.27 (1974) 58
INGRAM #2 KERR 7.87 5.73 (1995) 23
ITASCA HILL 13.46 7.17 (1942) 23
JARRELL WILLIAMSON 21.13 9.10 (1973) 77
JOE POOL LAKE DALLAS 6.43 6.04 (1995) 22
KOPPERL 5 NNE HILL 7.61 6.85 (2007) 23
LAKE BRIDGEPORT DAM WISE 7.15 6.60 (1945) 16
LAKE FORK RSVR WOOD 9.04 7.63 (2007) 21
LAKE TAWAKONI RAINS 9.96 6.46 (1980) 34
LULING 12 NE CALDWELL 5.13 4.98 (2003) 13
MIDLOTHIAN ELLIS 10.06 8.04 (2007) 12
MORGAN MILL ERATH 10.80 9.78 (1964) 55
GEORGETOWN LAKE WILLIAMSON 12.15 11.22 (1996) 30
ROSEBUD FALLS 9.76 8.43 (1974) 33
ROSSER KAUFMAN 11.50 10.23 (1976) 65
SAN SABA 7 NW SAN SABA 5.81 4.34 (2001) 10
SANTA ROSA 3 WNW HIDALGO 10.67 9.16 (1998) 23
STILLHOUSE HOLLOW DAM BELL 10.75 7.55 (1976) 45
TAYLOR 1 NW WILLIAMSON 6.84 5.29 (2000) 10
GORDON 1 SW PALO PINTO 10.11 7.89 (1996) 50
TOW LLANO 6.06 4.37 (1995) 28
TYLER SMITH 6.85 6.80 (2008) 25
VALLEY MILLS BOSQUE 8.36 4.72 (2001) 12
WACO DAM MCLENNAN 8.75 8.67 (1970) 39
WATSON BURNET 7.26 7.20 (1987) 42
WEST MCLENNAN 9.27 6.66 (2003) 17
WIMBERLEY 1 NW HAYS 10.39 8.13 (1991) 24
WINNSBORO 6 SW WOOD 8.32 8.26 (1979) 57
YOUNGSPORT BELL 12.42 6.21 (1993) 18
Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
DALLAS REDBIRD AP DALLAS 6.54 2.78 (2007) 10
JUNCTION KIMBLE CO AP KIMBLE 2.71 2.66 (1964) 32
AQUILLA 1 SSE HILL 2.47 2.08 (2007) 18
BRANDON HILL 4.12 3.26 (2005) 18
BURLESON JOHNSON 5.35 4.00 (1995) 24
CALLIHAM MCMULLEN 3.70 3.63 (2003) 27
CRAWFORD MCLENNAN 4.28 1.52 (1993) 10
FALCON DAM STARR 7.70 6.95 (1971) 47
FLORENCE 3 SE WILLIAMSON 4.61 4.15 (1973) 42
GILMER 4 WNW UPSHUR 7.06 5.36 (1998) 79
JARRELL WILLIAMSON 14.33 5.50 (1973) 77
LAKE BRIDGEPORT DAM WISE 5.53 3.09 (1940) 16
LAKE TAWAKONI RAINS 3.75 3.55 (1998) 34
LEAKEY REAL 4.10 3.94 (2000) 22
LOS ANGELES 4 WSW LA SALLE 2.92 1.87 (2002) 11
MORGAN MILL ERATH 5.11 5.00 (1955) 55
GEORGETOWN LAKE WILLIAMSON 4.79 4.60 (1996) 30
SEGUIN 1 SSW GUADALUPE 3.01 2.43 (2002) 17
STILLHOUSE HOLLOW DAM BELL 5.38 4.91 (2000) 45
TAYLOR 1 NW WILLIAMSON 2.42 2.30 (2000) 10
TYLER SMITH 3.24 2.96 (2008) 25
VALLEY MILLS BOSQUE 4.55 3.55 (2004) 12
WIMBERLEY 1 NW HAYS 3.60 2.51 (1991) 24
WOODSON THROCKMORTON 2.95 2.94 (2008) 23
YOUNGSPORT BELL 5.26 2.46 (1993) 18
Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
CONCHO PARK IVIE RSVR CONCHO 74.2 74.5 (2008) 11
FT MCKAVETT MENARD 72.0 72.2 (2008) 15
PLEASANTON ATASCOSA 78.7 78.8 (2008) 17
Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
LONGVIEW 11 SE RUSK 83.4 83.5 (2008) 33
BAYTOWN HARRIS 85.1 85.5 (2001) 27
BURLESON JOHNSON 82.9 83.3 (1991) 24
CHILDRESS 2 CHILDRESS 82.4 82.4 (2006) 12
CONCHO PARK IVIE RSVR CONCHO 84.1 85.0 (2003) 12
GRANGER DAM WILLIAMSON 84.7 84.7 (1991) 27
HOUSTON‑PORT HARRIS 86.1 87.4 (1991) 17
JOE POOL nbsp;LAKE DALLAS 85.0 86.6 (1996) 12
LAKE TAWAKONI RAINS 82.7 83.1 (2008) 34
GEORGETOWN LAKE WILLIAMSON 83.2 84.2 (1991) 28
PLEASANTON ATASCOSA 88.3 89.9 (1991) 17
RAINBOW SOMERVELL 84.0 86.4 (2003) 10
SAN SABA 7 NW SAN SABA 83.6 84.0 (2003) 10
TAYLOR 1 NW WILLIAMSON 86.2 86.7 (2001) 10
WRIGHT PATMAN DAM CASS 81.0 81.4 (2008) 34
Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
SANFORD DAM HUTCHINSON 102 102 (1997) 15
Lowest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
DALLAS REDBIRD AP DALLAS 70 71 (2003) 10
DENTON MUNI AP DENTON 70 70 (2003) 10
HARLINGEN RIO GRANDE AP CAMERON 69 74 (1961) 21
ALICE INTL AP JIM WELLS 68 75 (1948) 13
COTULLA LA SALLE CO AP LA SALLE 65 65 (1903) 11
SAN ANTONIO STINSON AP BEXAR 66 73 (2003) 12
NEW BRAUNFELS MUNI AP GUADALUPE 68 73 (2003) 12
HUNTSVILLE MUNI AP WALKER 70 72 (2001) 11
TERRELL MUNI AP KAUFMAN 70 72 (2001) 10
ATLANTA CASS 68 69 (2005) 10
CALLIHAM MCMULLEN 66 74 (2003) 10
CHARLOTTE 5 NNW ATASCOSA 65 66 (1991) 48
DEL RIO 2 NW VAL VERDE 68 74 (2000) 14
DRIPPING SPRINGS 6 E HAYS 63 65 (1995) 25
FT MCKAVETT MENARD 68 70 (1880) 15
LA JOYA HIDALGO 66 76 (2003) 14
LUFKIN 11 NW ANGELINA 69 71 (2003) 10
RAINBOW SOMERVELL 67 68 (2000) 10
REFUGIO 3 SW REFUGIO 71 73 (1999) 12
SAN ANTONIO 8 NNE BEXAR 65 73 (2003) 13
SAN SABA 7 NW SAN SABA 67 68 (2003) 10
TAYLOR 1 NW WILLIAMSON 67 68 (2000) 10
VICTORIA RGNL AP VICTORIA 74 76 (2003) 10
Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ACTON RCH CROCKETT 61.6 61.9 (1994) 15
Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F)
Station County Value Previous Record Yrs. Data
ALICE INTL AP JIM WELLS 73.3 71.9 (2007) 13

Climatic Averages for October

  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 77.6 103 (1979) 54.4 23 (1993) 2.90 10.88 (1941) 6.08 (1981) 2.2 0.3 6.2 93 118
Amarillo 71.8 99 (2000) 44.6 12 (1993) 1.50 7.64 (1941) 3.03 (1998) 0.8 2.3 5.0 239 26
Austin 81.4 100 (1938) 59.8 30 (1993) 3.97 12.63 (1925) 7.51 (1998) 4.4 0.0 7.4 32 207
Brownsville 84.0 99 (1900) 65.9 35 (1993) 3.78 17.12 (1958) 9.09 (1996) 6.2 0.0 7.3 6 332
College Station 82.0 102 (1938) 59.0 29 (1993) 4.22 18.77 (1994) 13.39 (1994) 3.2 0.1 7.6 25 196
Corpus Christi 83.6 98 (1950) 64.0 28 (1993) 3.94 12.03 (1997) 7.96 (1995) 5.5 0.0 6.7 12 300
Dallas‑Fort Worth 77.9 106 (1951) 56.4 24 (1917) 4.11 14.18 (1981) 4.85 (1959) 3.0 0.1 6.9 52 118
Del Rio 81.7 106 (1979) 60.5 28 (1993) 2.00 11.69 (1930) 7.60 (1969) 5.1 0.1 5.7 24 217
El Paso 77.9 96 (1994) 51.8 25 (1970) 0.81 5.15 (1884) 1.84 (1883) 2.4 0.5 4.9 89 71
Galveston 79.7 94 (1952) 68.4 39 (1993) 3.49 17.78 (1871) 14.01 (1901) 0.1 0.0 6.8 6 286
Houston 82.0 99 (1900) 58.8 29 (1993) 4.50 17.64 (1949) 9.31 (1984) 3.1 0.1 7.5 37 196
Lubbock 74.4 100 (2000) 47.0 18 (1993) 1.70 10.80 (1983) 5.82 (1983) 1.2 1.0 5.1 163 46
Midland 77.4 101 (2000) 51.3 24 (1993) 1.77 7.45 (1986) 3.59 (1985) 2.4 0.3 4.7 103 83
Port Arthur 80.5 99 (1905) 59.6 30 (1993) 4.67 15.09 (1970) 9.26 (1902) 1.5 0.1 6.5 34 195
San Angelo 77.8 100 (1951) 53.0 26 (1997) 2.57 8.68 (1981) 5.11 (1959) 2.7 0.3 5.6 84 112
San Antonio 82.0 99 (1991) 59.4 27 (1993) 3.86 18.07 (1998) 13.35 (1998) 4.9 0.0 6.9 33 215
Victoria 83.0 109 (1926) 61.6 31 (1993) 4.26 17.25 (1960) 8.15 (1994) 4.9 0.0 7.3 22 248
Waco 80.4 101 (1989) 56.7 25 (1993) 3.67 10.51 (1984) 5.72 (1974) 4.5 0.1 6.9 58 170
Wichita Falls 77.1 102 (2000) 52.4 21 (1993) 3.11 11.77 (1941) 5.61 (1959) 3.3 0.4 7.0 106 99
Shreveport, LA 78.3 99 (1938) 55.0 28 (1993) 4.45 14.02 (1949) 6.83 (1949) 1.8 0.2 7.4 78 119
Climatic averages are based on 1971-2000 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
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