Texas Climate Report: March 2018
The month of March saw very warm temperatures across the entire state of Texas. The majority of the state saw temperatures more than four degrees above normal, except for parts of far West Texas, the upper Panhandle, the Low Rolling Plains, and East Texas along the Oklahoma and Louisiana borders, which recorded temperatures between three and four degrees above normal. The upper Panhandle also saw low precipitation accumulations, including the northwest corner, which recorded no rain throughout March. Some station in East Texas recorded above seven inches of rainfall for the month.
In the first week of March, only a quarter of the state was free of drought and abnormal dryness, and over 14 percent of the state was in extreme drought. Like the last few months, the northern Panhandle received less than a quarter-inch of rain in March. Due to the low rain accumulation, it’s no surprise that the northern Panhandle developed exceptional drought at the end of March. In the last week of the month, a front carrying heavy rain through Central Texas allowed the regional severe drought to downgrade to moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions around the Austin area. Overall drought throughout the state decreased in March, and a third of Texas ended the month drought-free. Due to dry conditions in West Texas and the Panhandle, 74 percent of corn, 49 percent of cattle, and 65 percent of winter wheat is located in drought.
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 |
72.2 |
+3.6 |
88 |
46.5 |
+2.4 |
29 |
59.4 |
+3.0 |
4 |
1.47 |
84% |
0.81 |
211 |
46 |
| Amarillo |
68.9 |
+6.4 |
91 |
36.3 |
+3.0 |
22 |
52.6 |
+4.7 |
1 |
0.24 |
17% |
0.24 |
386 |
9 |
| Austin |
78.0 |
+5.8 |
90 |
56.0 |
+4.7 |
41 |
67.0 |
+5.3 |
6 |
3.74 |
136% |
3.28 |
56 |
126 |
| Brownsville |
83.4 |
+4.5 |
95 |
65.9 |
+6.3 |
55 |
74.7 |
+5.4 |
4 |
0.49 |
40% |
0.23 |
0 |
307 |
| College Station |
76.1 |
+4.4 |
85 |
54.8 |
+3.8 |
42 |
65.5 |
+4.1 |
8 |
6.16 |
194% |
4.52 |
80 |
102 |
| Corpus Christi |
79.4 |
+3.5 |
87 |
61.7 |
+5.4 |
47 |
70.5 |
+4.4 |
4 |
2.01 |
106% |
0.95 |
25 |
205 |
| Dallas‑Fort Worth |
74.7 |
+6.5 |
89 |
51.9 |
+4.9 |
37 |
63.3 |
+5.7 |
5 |
2.90 |
83% |
1.73 |
114 |
70 |
| Del Rio |
81.0 |
+4.8 |
94 |
55.7 |
+3.6 |
44 |
68.3 |
+4.2 |
2 |
0.13 |
11% |
0.12 |
32 |
144 |
| El Paso |
74.6 |
+4.3 |
88 |
48.4 |
+5.5 |
34 |
61.5 |
+4.9 |
2 |
0.21 |
81% |
0.20 |
137 |
37 |
| Galveston |
75.5 |
+5.3 |
89 |
63.6 |
+7.0 |
54 |
69.5 |
+6.1 |
8 |
1.34 |
42% |
1.02 |
20 |
167 |
| Houston |
77.7 |
+4.7 |
85 |
57.4 |
+4.9 |
44 |
67.6 |
+4.9 |
6 |
2.97 |
87% |
1.47 |
58 |
144 |
| Lubbock |
72.2 |
+5.5 |
90 |
40.8 |
+3.8 |
22 |
56.5 |
+4.6 |
5 |
0.87 |
79% |
0.77 |
285 |
27 |
| Midland |
76.8 |
+6.6 |
91 |
47.6 |
+6.6 |
32 |
62.2 |
+6.6 |
3 |
0.11 |
18% |
0.08 |
149 |
68 |
| Port Arthur |
75.8 |
+4.0 |
87 |
55.9 |
+3.7 |
41 |
65.8 |
+3.8 |
5 |
1.72 |
49% |
0.91 |
75 |
108 |
| San Angelo |
77.2 |
+6.1 |
94 |
48.0 |
+3.6 |
30 |
62.6 |
+4.8 |
2 |
1.20 |
80% |
1.19 |
151 |
85 |
| San Antonio |
77.2 |
+3.7 |
89 |
56.8 |
+6.0 |
45 |
67.0 |
+4.8 |
4 |
4.02 |
174% |
3.51 |
50 |
122 |
| Victoria |
78.6 |
+4.4 |
86 |
56.9 |
+4.4 |
41 |
67.8 |
+4.4 |
7 |
1.95 |
70% |
0.76 |
55 |
150 |
| Waco |
75.0 |
+5.8 |
87 |
48.8 |
+1.7 |
32 |
61.9 |
+3.7 |
4 |
2.49 |
79% |
1.50 |
154 |
67 |
| Wichita Falls |
71.8 |
+4.8 |
86 |
43.3 |
+2.1 |
27 |
57.6 |
+3.5 |
6 |
2.79 |
127% |
1.48 |
252 |
28 |
| Shreveport, LA |
73.7 |
+4.2 |
85 |
50.5 |
+4.2 |
33 |
62.1 |
+4.2 |
8 |
6.67 |
161% |
3.20 |
142 |
62 |
Bold-italics indicate a value broke or tied the record from a previous year.
*Dep.: Departure of the monthly average temperature from the 1981-2010 monthly normal, which is provided by the National Climatic Data Center.
*Perc. Norm.: Monthly precipitation total divided by 1981-2010 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.
|
Monthly Extremes
|
| Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| BIG BEND RCH SP |
PRESIDIO |
0.00 |
| BOYS RANCH |
OLDHAM |
0.00 |
| CASTOLON |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
| CHISOS BASIN |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
| DALHART |
DALLAM |
0.00 |
| DALHART MUNI AP |
DALLAM |
0.00 |
| GRUVER |
HANSFORD |
0.00 |
| LAKE AMENT |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
| LANGTRY |
VAL VERDE |
0.00 |
| PANTHER JUNCTION |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
| SNYDER WINSTON FLD AP |
SCURRY |
0.00 |
| TERLINGUA |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
| Greatest Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| TOWN BLUFF DAM |
TYLER |
9.12 |
| TOWN BLUFF DAM |
TYLER |
9.12 |
| Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| TOWN BLUFF DAM |
TYLER |
7.60 |
| TOWN BLUFF DAM |
TYLER |
7.60 |
| Lowest Average Daily Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| HARTLEY |
HARTLEY |
48.4 |
| Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP |
HIDALGO |
76.8 |
| Lowest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| HARTLEY |
HARTLEY |
66.1 |
| Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP |
HIDALGO |
87.2 |
| Highest Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP |
HIDALGO |
101 |
| Lowest Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| FRIONA |
PARMER |
41 |
| Lowest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| HARTLEY |
HARTLEY |
30.7 |
| Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| PORT ISABEL CAMERON AP |
CAMERON |
66.6 |
| Highest Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP |
HIDALGO |
76 |
| Lowest Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
| BOYS RANCH |
OLDHAM |
14 |
| LEFORS |
GRAY |
14 |
| MULESHOE #1 |
BAILEY |
14 |
New Monthly Records
| Least Precipitation Overall for the Month (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| BIG BEND RCH SP |
PRESIDIO |
0.00 |
0.00 (2013) |
23 |
| BOYS RANCH |
OLDHAM |
0.00 |
0.00 (2011) |
37 |
| CASTOLON |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
0.00 (2011) |
37 |
| CHISOS BASIN |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
0.00 (2014) |
70 |
| DALHART MUNI AP |
DALLAM |
0.00 |
0.00 (1972) |
69 |
| GRUVER |
HANSFORD |
0.00 |
0.00 (1997) |
70 |
| HARTLEY |
HARTLEY |
0.02 |
0.04 (2013) |
12 |
| LANGTRY |
VAL VERDE |
0.00 |
0.00 (2011) |
64 |
| PANTHER JUNCTION |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
0.00 (2013) |
59 |
| TERLINGUA |
BREWSTER |
0.00 |
0.00 (2014) |
12 |
| Greatest Precipitation in 24 Hours Ever in the Month (inches) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| AUSTIN BERGSTROM AP |
TRAVIS |
5.99 |
2.69 (2012) |
63 |
| BEAUMONT RSCH CTR |
JEFFERSON |
6.28 |
5.53 (2016) |
55 |
| COLLEGE STN |
BRAZOS |
4.52 |
4.20 (1980) |
66 |
| CONROE MONTGOMERY CO AP |
MONTGOMERY |
3.85 |
3.33 (2016) |
19 |
| ELGIN |
BASTROP |
5.30 |
2.90 (1999) |
56 |
| HONDO |
MEDINA |
3.44 |
3.30 (1921) |
91 |
| HOUSTON HOOKS MEM AP |
HARRIS |
3.73 |
2.77 (2007) |
20 |
| LUFKIN ANGELINA CO AP |
ANGELINA |
4.50 |
4.40 (2002) |
108 |
| MONTGOMERY |
MONTGOMERY |
4.60 |
3.06 (1985) |
57 |
| NEW BRAUNFELS MUNI AP |
GUADALUPE |
4.88 |
4.20 (2007) |
17 |
| SAN ANTONIO STINSON AP |
BEXAR |
4.01 |
2.62 (2007) |
19 |
| SCOTLAND |
ARCHER |
3.38 |
2.66 (1998) |
19 |
| TAYLOR 1 NW |
WILLIAMSON |
3.03 |
2.77 (2001) |
18 |
| Highest Average Daily Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| HOUSTON SUGARLAND MEM |
FORT BEND |
68.9 |
68.8 (2017) |
17 |
| MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP |
HIDALGO |
76.8 |
76.3 (2017) |
56 |
| PERSIMMON GAP |
BREWSTER |
65.9 |
65.4 (2016) |
31 |
| SAN ANTONIO STINSON AP |
BEXAR |
69.7 |
69.4 (2017) |
19 |
| Highest Average Daily Maximum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| BURNET MUNI AP |
BURNET |
75.6 |
75.5 (2017) |
17 |
| HOUSTON SUGARLAND MEM |
FORT BEND |
78.8 |
77.8 (2017) |
17 |
| Highest Maximum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| FT MCKAVETT |
MENARD |
92 |
92 (2012) |
23 |
| GALVESTON SCHOLES FLD |
GALVESTON |
89 |
87 (2008) |
37 |
| LEFORS |
GRAY |
95 |
93 (2011) |
11 |
| PERSIMMON GAP |
BREWSTER |
98 |
97 (1995) |
31 |
| PLAINVIEW WATER PRODUCTION |
HALE |
90 |
90 (2017) |
18 |
| SANFORD DAM |
HUTCHINSON |
92 |
92 (2017) |
24 |
| SAN ANGELO WFO |
TOM GREEN |
95 |
95 (2017) |
17 |
| VIGO PARK |
SWISHER |
93 |
93 (2017) |
16 |
| Highest Average Daily Minimum Temperature (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| TERLINGUA |
BREWSTER |
50.6 |
49.8 (2011) |
10 |
| Highest Minimum Temperature Ever in the Month (°F) |
| Station |
County |
Value |
Previous Record |
Yrs. Data |
| CHEAPSIDE |
GONZALES |
70 |
70 (2007) |
14 |
| CHILDRESS 2 |
CHILDRESS |
65 |
64 (2004) |
21 |
| CHOKE CANYON DAM |
LIVE OAK |
71 |
71 (2008) |
35 |
| CONROE MONTGOMERY CO AP |
MONTGOMERY |
71 |
71 (2012) |
20 |
| CORPUS CHRISTI INTL AP |
NUECES |
73 |
73 (2017) |
76 |
| CRANE 2E |
CRANE |
67 |
67 (1963) |
47 |
| FREEPORT 2 NW |
BRAZORIA |
72 |
72 (2017) |
52 |
| HOUSTON INTERCONT AP |
HARRIS |
73 |
73 (2012) |
49 |
| K‑BAR RCH |
ECTOR |
64 |
63 (2012) |
11 |
| LANGTRY |
VAL VERDE |
69 |
69 (1988) |
40 |
| MCALLEN MILLER INTL AP |
HIDALGO |
76 |
76 (2016) |
56 |
| MIDLAND INTL AP |
MIDLAND |
66 |
64 (2012) |
86 |
| MULESHOE #1 |
BAILEY |
54 |
53 (2004) |
84 |
| ODESSA SCHLEMEYER FLD |
ECTOR |
65 |
65 (2004) |
15 |
| TERLINGUA |
BREWSTER |
66 |
63 (2012) |
10 |
| WINKLER CO AP |
WINKLER |
64 |
64 (1982) |
69 |
Climatic Averages for April
| |
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 |
77.3 |
104 (2012) |
51.9 |
25 (1973) |
1.64 |
9.80 (1890) |
4.63 (1914) |
2.1 |
0.3 |
5.0 |
111 |
99 |
| Amarillo |
71.1 |
99 (2012) |
41.6 |
13 (1920) |
1.40 |
6.45 (1997) |
2.68 (1911) |
0.8 |
3.6 |
5.6 |
279 |
19 |
| Austin |
79.8 |
99 (2006) |
58.6 |
30 (1926) |
2.09 |
19.82 (1915) |
10.00 (1915) |
1.7 |
0.0 |
7.1 |
38 |
164 |
| Brownsville |
83.7 |
104 (2017) |
65.9 |
37 (1903) |
1.54 |
10.35 (1991) |
9.37 (1991) |
3.4 |
0.0 |
4.0 |
8 |
302 |
| College Station |
78.9 |
98 (1893) |
58.1 |
28 (1973) |
2.66 |
12.50 (1957) |
5.30 (1953) |
0.7 |
0.0 |
6.5 |
47 |
152 |
| Corpus Christi |
81.7 |
103 (2014) |
63.0 |
33 (1987) |
1.84 |
9.21 (2004) |
7.19 (1956) |
2.1 |
0.0 |
5.3 |
17 |
237 |
| Dallas‑Fort Worth |
76.3 |
101 (2006) |
54.8 |
29 (1989) |
3.07 |
17.64 (1922) |
8.81 (1922) |
0.7 |
0.1 |
6.6 |
83 |
99 |
| Del Rio |
83.6 |
106 (1984) |
59.6 |
33 (1987) |
1.65 |
7.51 (1981) |
5.07 (2017) |
6.8 |
0.0 |
5.2 |
25 |
223 |
| El Paso |
78.6 |
98 (1989) |
50.7 |
23 (1983) |
0.23 |
2.24 (1931) |
1.08 (1966) |
1.5 |
0.4 |
1.9 |
92 |
82 |
| Galveston |
75.9 |
95 (2011) |
64.4 |
38 (1938) |
3.05 |
11.04 (1904) |
9.23 (1904) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
4.9 |
18 |
173 |
| Houston |
79.6 |
95 (1987) |
59.4 |
31 (1987) |
3.31 |
14.39 (2016) |
9.92 (2016) |
0.7 |
0.0 |
6.8 |
37 |
172 |
| Lubbock |
75.4 |
104 (2012) |
45.7 |
18 (1920) |
1.41 |
6.18 (1915) |
3.55 (2010) |
1.3 |
1.3 |
4.8 |
183 |
49 |
| Midland |
79.2 |
104 (2012) |
49.3 |
20 (1973) |
0.65 |
3.59 (1931) |
2.00 (1931) |
3.7 |
0.6 |
2.9 |
112 |
90 |
| Port Arthur |
78.1 |
94 (1987) |
59.0 |
32 (1987) |
3.21 |
15.30 (1973) |
10.09 (1973) |
0.2 |
0.0 |
6.2 |
39 |
146 |
| San Angelo |
80.1 |
107 (1925) |
51.9 |
23 (1926) |
1.42 |
5.10 (2016) |
3.32 (1971) |
4.1 |
0.6 |
4.5 |
88 |
118 |
| San Antonio |
80.5 |
101 (1996) |
58.1 |
31 (1987) |
2.10 |
11.64 (1915) |
6.78 (1915) |
2.1 |
0.1 |
6.4 |
39 |
168 |
| Victoria |
80.5 |
100 (1920) |
59.3 |
33 (1987) |
2.82 |
11.70 (1997) |
9.87 (1991) |
0.8 |
0.0 |
6.1 |
30 |
177 |
| Waco |
77.6 |
101 (1963) |
54.6 |
26 (2009) |
2.69 |
13.37 (1957) |
5.09 (1957) |
1.2 |
0.2 |
6.3 |
78 |
111 |
| Wichita Falls |
75.8 |
103 (2011) |
49.4 |
24 (1975) |
2.61 |
8.50 (1957) |
5.33 (2009) |
1.6 |
0.5 |
6.2 |
142 |
70 |
| Shreveport, LA |
76.9 |
96 (1887) |
53.6 |
31 (1989) |
4.19 |
21.84 (1991) |
10.44 (1991) |
0.3 |
0.1 |
7.6 |
86 |
94 |
| Climatic averages are based on 1981-2010 monthly normals, which are provided by the National Climatic Data Center. |
