Volume 19 Number 7.1 January through June 2006

Texas was very warm during this six month period. Every first-order station reported a mean temperature above average. The average mean temperature departure from normal for the state was 3.5°F. Wichita Falls reported the largest departure from the mean temperature with 5.3°F above normal for the six month period. Northern Central Texas was the warmest area, with DFW at 5.1°F above normal, Waco at 3.7°F above normal, and Wichita Falls at 5.3°F.

Precipitation was also below average. All of the stations except Houston, Austin, Corpus Christi, and Abilene reported below normal precipitation. The driest areas were Amarillo and Brownsville, who reported precipitation 44% and 46% of normal, respectively. A few other areas reported just over half of their normal precipitation: Wichita Falls and San Antonio reported 54% of normal, El Paso reported 57% of normal, and Del Rio reported 56% of normal.

As a result of the warm temperatures and the lack of precipitation most of the state is still under a significant drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor (http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html) has placed the Red River area under exceptional drought conditions, including Dallas/Fort Worth and Wichita Falls. All of the Edwards Plateau region is listed under extreme drought conditions. The only area in the state not listed under some kind of drought conditions is along the coast. Most of the state is listed under extreme conditions with severe conditions also covering a large area of the state. A small area along the borders of the Southern, South Central, and Edwards Plateau regions is listed under exceptional drought conditions.

January 2006 – June 2006 Precipitation

Departures are based on 1971-2000 normals

* T = Trace (<0.005")

M: Information not available.

January 2006 – June 2006 Temperatures

Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)

Matt Mosier (Undergraduate Assistant)