Volume 12 Number 11                                                                                                                     NOVEMBER 1999

Precipitation for November of 1999 was extremely sparse with eighteen of the nineteen stations receiving less half of their normal rainfall. The entire western half of Texas (eight stations) recorded virtually no rainfall while San Antonio and Austin recorded only 2% and 3% of their 30-year November normal, respectively. Only Brownsville in the Lower Valley reported above-normal precipitation, 183%.

Compounding the lack of moisture were the unseasonably warm temperatures across the state. With the exception of Austin, where the mean monthly temperature was normal, all stations in Texas measured above-normal temperatures. Departures ranged from around 0.5ºF in the Rio Grande Valley to nearly 7.0ºF in North Central Texas.

High pressure in the southern half of the country kept storm systems well to the north of the state resulting in clear skies and warm weather for all of Texas. This pattern persisted through the middle of November, and the extreme lack of moisture was taking a toll on farmers and ranchers across the state (see Agricultural Weather Highlights). Record high maximum temperatures were tied in Midland, Lubbock, and Austin on the 18^th, in Galveston on the 19^th, in Houston on the 21^st, and Austin on the 22^nd. Austin broke the record of fourteen days of 80ºF or above set in 1950 with eighteen days in November of 1999. The sixteen consecutive days from the 4^th through the 19^th was also a record for Austin.

Rainfall finally came to parts of the eastern half of the state when a cold front extending from a Midwestern low pressure system moved across the state from the 22^nd to the 25^th. Seven of the primary stations recorded significant rainfall on the 23^rd, and a record 2.62 inches fell in Brownsville on the 23^rd and 24^th. Cold air behind the front allowed temperatures to rise only into the 50's for much of the state on Thanksgiving Day
 
 
 
 

Rick Scott (Graduate Assistant)
 
 

                                                                                                 * 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.
 
 

The Texas Agricultural Statistics Service reports that this year's corn crop yielded 29% more than 1998 and 3% of the national total. Extension agronomist Dr. Cloyce Coffman in College Station said that the cool spring was favorable to the early growing stage of the corn. Part of the increased yield can be attributed to the fact that 20,000 acres of cotton and grain sorghum were replaced by corn in Williamson County, according to Ronald Leps, Extension agent there. Coffman also pointed out that there were very few problems with insects and disease, but the prices were not particularly good.

By the end of the first week in November, the fall drought was inhibiting the growth of winter forage, and pastures and ranges were still in mid-summer dormancy. Heavy irrigation was helping fall vegetable crops, but wheat, oats, and fall gardens were suffering.

Through mid-November, the Texas sugarcane crop, the nation's fourth largest, was turning out to be a "sweet success." Norman Rozeff, agronomist with Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers Inc. in Santa Rosa, stated that the sugar content was above average so far, and the warm days and cool nights combined with the dry weather were conducive to a high sugar content. In the South Plains, district Extension director Jett Major said the cotton harvest was about 50% complete, irrigated wheat looked good, and good pecan and peanut crops were being reported. Soil moisture in all districts was reported as short to very short.

As November came to an end with very little rainfall, "the limited forage and pond water resulting from the drought is taking a toll on cattle across the state," said Extension beef cattle specialist Dr. L.R. Sprott. Inadequate body condition going into the winter had producers looking for alternative feed sources. Extension livestock specialist Dr. Stephen Hammack in Stephenville said that virtually no grazing remains for most cattle and that a large number of producers were supplemental feeding.
 
 

Rick Scott

Office of the State Climatologist

Material obtained from:

TAMU Extension Crop, Livestock and Weather reports
 
 

Monthly Weather Outlook for December 1999*
 
 

The 31-day outlook for December indicates a greater than 43% chance of above-normal temperatures for the entire state, with a region in excess of 53% south and southwest of the line from Midland to Corpus Christi. This same area also has a greater than 33% chance for below-normal precipitation. In the northern portions of the state, from the Panhandle to East Texas, precipitation is expected to be approximately normal.

* from the Climate Prediction Center, NOAA
 
 
 
 

Past Weather Events in December*
 
 

Dec. 1-5, 1913: Rainstorm. This caused the second major Brazos River flood, and caused more deaths than the storm of 1899. It formed over Central Texas and spread both southwest and northeast with precipitation of 15 inches at San Marcos and 11 inches at Kaufman. Floods caused loss of 177 lives and $8,541,00 damage.

Dec. 30-31, 1978: Ice Storm. North Central Texas. Possibly the worst ice storm in 30 years hit Dallas County particularly hard. Damage estimates reached $14 million, and six deaths were storm-related.

Dec. 24, 1982: Rains of up to 15 inches occurred in Southeast Texas.

Dec. 1982: Heavy Snow. El Paso recorded 18.2 inches of snow, the most in any month there.

Dec. 18-31, 1991: Flooding, entire state. The month of December was one of the wettest in Texas since records began in 1888. Rainfall amounts, from the Hill Country into North Central Texas totaled 12 to 16 inches over the four-day period of Dec. 18-21. Eleven people died as a result of the flooding, and more than $50 million dollars in damages were incurred.

*from the Texas Almanac
 
 

Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)

Rick Scott (Graduate Assistant)

Darcy Dittman (Undergraduate Assistant)

Kerry Meyer (Undergraduate Assistant)