Volume 18 Number 8                                                                                                   AUGUST 2005

         

          The month of August had its ups and downs for the state of Texas.  The first half of the month was a cooler and wetter than in the past, at least for most of the state. A strong convective system moved through Central Texas on the 9th and 10th. Waco, received 2.69” during a three day stretch (August 8-10) and was 9° cooler than average on the 9th and 10° cooler on the 10th.  College Station received 1.92” on the 10th with high winds reported in the area. The panhandle of Texas had a long stretch of days in which the temperatures were below average, including two days in Abilene where the average temperature was over 10° below normal.  On the 14th the average temperature in Amarillo was 14° below normal. During this same time period Wichita Falls was receiving immense amounts of rainfall. In a four day period, 13th through 16th, the city received 6.96” of rainfall, with one 24 hour total at 4.55” (the normal monthly rainfall amount is 2.39”). The DFW area received 2.44” over two days (14th and 15th). El Paso also received its fair share of the rainfall and cooler temperatures.  On the 12th it rained 2.26” in the city, where the normal monthly rainfall total is 1.27”, and the average temperature was 10° below normal.  The second half of the month, however, seemed exceedingly different.

          Starting around the 16th the state became hot and dry.  In many areas, including College Station, Austin, DFW, Waco, and Lubbock, rain was non-existent for all but the last days of August and while no records were broken, it was very hot with highs hovering around the century mark for many days, but many of these cities got off easy when compared to South Texas. Just a note of interest, Austin Camp Mabry was 0.13” above average while Austin Bergstrom was 0.94” short.  What a difference a small distance can make.

          South Texas, including Corpus Christi and McAllen, was hot and dry for all of August.  The rains that cooled off the state in the beginning of the month missed South Texas and no rain seem to fall in this area for the entire month.  Corpus Christi received only 0.25” of rain, a vast deficient of 3.29” short of the month normal total.  Not only was Corpus dry but it was also the hottest August on record, which only added insult to injury. Brownsville also had its hottest August on record.  South Texas is also very dry, with Brownsville 8.66” low for the year and Corpus Christi 7.45” low. 

 

 

AUGUST 2005


* Complete temperature data were unavailable.  Temperatures are rounded to the nearest whole degree.

*HDD - Heating degree-day: Refer to the Monthly Average chart for a definition                                                           T = Trace (<0.005")

*CDD - Cooling degree-day: Refer to the Monthly Average chart for a definition                                           M:  Information not available.

 

 

 


                                                                                                       

 

 

CLIMATIC AVERAGES FOR SEPTEMBER

 

      

 

 

Records are at the current site, other records may have occurred at previous sites.

*CDD - Cooling degree-day:  The difference between the mean individual daily temperature and 65°F, with one

CDD resulting for each degree above the standard 65°F during one day.

*HDD - Heating degree-day:  The difference between the mean individual daily temperature and 65°F, with one

HDD resulting for each degree below the standard 65°F during one day.

All times given for sunrise, sunset, and moon phase times are calculated for the intersection of

Meridian 99°10' W and parallel 31°23' N, which is the approximate geographic center of the state.

 

 

Climate-related Agricultural Information

 

http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/CROP/

 

 

Past Weather Events in September

 

September 16, 1875:  Hurricane.  Struck Indianola, Calhoun County.  Three-fourths of town swept away; 176 lives lost.  Flooding from the bay caused nearly all destruction.

 

September 8-9, 1900:  Hurricane.  Galveston.  The Great Galveston Storm was the worst natural disaster in U.S. history in terms of human life.  Loss of life at Galveston has been estimated at 6,000 to 8,000, but the exact number has never been exactly determined.  The island was completely inundated; not a single structure escaped damage.  Most of the loss of life was due to drowning by storm tides that reached 15 feet or more.  The anemometer blew away when the wind reached 100 miles per hour at 6:15 p.m. on the 8th.  Wind reached an estimated maximum velocity of 120 mph between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.  Property damage has been estimated at $30 to $40 million.

 

September 8-10, 1921:  Rainstorm.  Probably the greatest rainstorm in Texas history, it entered Mexico as a hurricane from the Gulf.  Torrential rains fell as the storm moved northeasterly across Texas.  Record floods occurred in Bexar, Travis, Williamson, Bell and Milam counties, killing 215 persons, with property losses over $19 million.  Five to nine feet of water stood in downtown San Antonio.  A total of 23.98 inches was measured at the U.S. Weather Bureau station at Taylor during a period of 35 hours, with a 24-hour maximum of 23.11 on September 9-10.  The greatest rainfall recorded in United States history during 18 consecutive hours fell at Thrall, Williamson County, 36.40 inches fell on Sept. 9.

 

September 8-14, 1961:  Hurricane Carla.  Port O'Connor; maximum wind gust at Port Lavaca estimated at 175 mph.  Highest tide was 18.5 feet at Port Lavaca.  Most damage was to coastal counties between Corpus Christi and Port Arthur and inland Jackson, Harris and Wharton counties.  In Texas, 34 persons died; seven in a tornado that swept across Galveston Island; 465 persons were injured.  Property and crop damage conservatively estimated at $300 million.  The evacuation of an estimated 250,000 persons kept loss of life low.  Hurricane Carla was the largest hurricane of record.

 

September 9-13, 1971:  Hurricane Fern.  Coastal Bend.  Ten to 26 inches of rain resulted in some of the worst flooding since Hurricane Beulah in 1967.  Two persons killed; losses were $30,231,000.

 

September 5, 2000:  Excessive heat resulted in at least eight all-time high temperature records around the state, one of which was Possum Kingdom Lake which reached 114°F.  This day is being regarded as the hottest day ever in Texas.

 

Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)

Matt Mosier (Undergraduate Assistant)