Volume 15 Number 6                                                                                                              June 2002

 

Last month was no different than the previous months when it came to the drought.  There was no relief throughout the month of June for much of the state.  In fact, all but the North Central region and northern part of the East region of the state have been relatively unaffected by the drought.  At least 29 counties instituted burn bans for at least a portion of the month.  Even with the rain at the very end of the month, precipitation totals for most of the state remained below normal for the month of June.  However, due to an area of low pressure, some areas have already received more rain in the first few days of July then they should have for the year-to-date.    

 

Severe weather reports seemed to be contained to the first half of the month, with only a handful of reports coming after the severe weather on the 15th.  Texas experienced a swath of severe weather events, which stretched from Amarillo to Houston and from Lubbock to Tyler.  The severe weather came in the form of wind, with large amounts of minor damage and a few reports of moderate damage in the North Central Texas region. One report clocked winds of near 92 mph in the Wichita Falls area.  Mentioned in the 80 or so reports of damage across the state by local law enforcement agencies and amateur hand radio operators were uprooted trees, downed power lines across roadways, and blown off roofs.  (storm reports courtesy of the Storm Prediction Center)

 

June also heralds the beginning of another severe weather season for parts of Texas, namely hurricane season.  This year is expected to be a normal to slightly above normal season for tropical development in the Atlantic Ocean.  A consensus of scientists from several governmental agencies has predicted that there will be between 9 and 13 tropical storms this season, with 6 to 8 of these becoming hurricanes.  On previous years similar to this 1 to 2 hurricanes have affected the U. S.  A full report on the upcoming hurricane season outlook can be found at: http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.html

 

 

Brent Maddux (Undergraduate Assistant)

 

 

 

 

 

JUNE 2002


 

* 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 JULY


 

 

 

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 July

 

July 21, 1909:  Hurricane.  Velasco, Brazoria County.  One-half of town destroyed, 41 lives lost; damage $2,000,000.

 

July 22-25, 1933:  Tropical Storm.  One of the greatest U.S. storms in area and general rainfall.  The storm reached the vicinity of Freeport late on July 22 and moved very slowly overland across eastern Texas, July 22-25.  The storm center moved into northern Louisiana on the 25th.  Rainfall averaged 12.50 inches over an area of about 25,000 square miles.  Twenty inches or more fell in a small area of eastern Texas and western Louisiana surrounding Logansport, LA.  The 4-day total at Logansport was 22.30 inches.  Property damage was estimated at $1,114,790.

 

July 30, 1933:  Tornado.  Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Dallas County.  Five killed, 30 injured; damage $500,000.

 

July 25, 1934:  Hurricane.  Near Seadrift, Calhoun County.  Nineteen lives lost, many minor injuries; damage $4.5 million.  About 85 percent of damage was in crops.

 

July 27, 1943:  Hurricane.  Near Galveston.  Center moved inland across Bolivar Peninsula and Trinity Bar.  A wind gust of 104 mph was recorded and Texas City; 19 lives lost; damage estimated at $16,550,000.

 

July 24-25, 1979:  Tropical Storm Claudette caused over $750 million in property and crop damages, but fortunately only few injuries.  Near Alvin, 43 inches of rain fell, a new state record for 24 hours.

 

 

Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)

Brent Maddux (Undergraduate Assistant)

Kelsey Curtiss (Undergraduate Assistant)