Volume 11 Number 11                                                                                             NOVEMBER   1998
 

The temperature situation for the month of November in Texas was pretty much the same as the situation in October. The entire Lone Star State experienced above normal mean monthly temperatures with the departures from normal ranging between 1.3°F (Waco) to 3.5°F (Brownsville). Central, Southern and Eastern Texas received above normal precipitation for the month of November. One exception was Port Arthur where only 60% of the normal precipitation for November was recorded. Areas in the Trans Pecos, High Plains and the Low Rolling Plains also experienced a relatively speaking dry November.

On the first of the month, a cool front and its associated thunderstorms swept through Texas from the west to the east. A new record 24-hour rainfall was set when the showers and storms dropped 1.96" of rain at Dallas/Fort Worth. The daily total precipitation at Austin was 1.72" where winds were also recorded gusting to 41 mph. The weather was quiet for the week following the cool front passage. Temperatures were comfortable with precipitation being very limited throughout the state. On the 5th however, Cameron County did see some wind damage and even an F2 tornado near Los Fresno when some isolated thunderstorms passed through the area.

From the 12th to the 14th a low-pressure system brought some heavy rains to the southern half of Texas. New daily rainfall records were set on the 12th for Corpus Christi, Victoria and Houston. The daily rainfall tally for Corpus Christi was 0.61" with Victoria receiving 0.50" and Houston recording an overwhelming 4.68". By the 15th of the month the system had passed and the skies dried out over Texas.

The second half of the November was much quieter with very few rain making systems reaching as far south as Texas. Sunshine was a common feature across the state with warmer air building from the south to the north as the month came to close. On the 22nd, Amarillo International Airport reached 83°F setting a new daily high temperature record, while Lubbock tied that days record high with a temperature reading of 81°F. When the month finally ended it became official that a new monthly rainfall record was set at Victoria. The precipitation total for the month was 10.11". This measurement broke the previous record monthly rainfall total of 8.68" last set in 1982.
 

                                                      Prepared by:      John F. Griffiths (State Climatologist)
                                                                               Chris J. Gordon (Graduate Assistant)



NOVEMBER 1998


 
Avg
Avg
Abs
Abs
No. of
Total
% of 
Gr'st
Max
Min 
Mean
Max
Min
Days
Pcpn
Avg
24 hr
Station
Temp
Dep
Temp
Dep
Temp
Dep
Temp
Temp
Precip.
(In)
Pcpn
Pcpn
HDD*
CDD*
Abilene
67.7
1.4
46.1
2.7
56.9
2.0
80
35
6
1.06
72%
0.83
246
13
Amarillo
62.0
2.3
36.4
4.1
49.2
3.2
83
28
5
0.34
49%
0.24
469
0
Austin
71.0
-0.8
54.5
4.6
62.8
1.9
82
42
12
4.04
170%
1.69
116
57
Brownsville
80.0
1.7
64.4
5.4
72.2
3.5
86
53
9
3.72
246%
2.29
7
229
College Station
70.4
0.3
53.9
4.5
62.2
2.4
81
41
9
6.53
207%
3.21
126
51
Corpus Christi*
76.0
0.2
62.0
6.4
69.0
3.3
83
51
12
2.65
167%
0.91
23
145
Dallas/Ft. Worth
65.5
-1.3
49.7
4.3
57.6
1.4
77
37
7
4.91
214%
1.96
226
9
Del Rio
70.6
-1.1
54.2
5.2
62.4
2.0
78
45
14
2.01
218%
0.66
96
24
El Paso*
68.0
1.6
42.0
3.6
55.0
2.6
76
30
2
0.34
77%
0.33
297
0
Houston
72.9
0.5
55.6
6.0
64.3
3.3
83
44
10
10.21
269%
6.33
92
75
Lubbock
64.7
1.5
40.1
3.6
52.4
2.6
81
32
1
0.29
39%
0.29
370
0
Midland*
69.0
2.8
44.0
5.1
56.0
3.4
83
36
7
0.13
19%
0.06
259
6
Port Arthur*
73.0
1.7
56.0
4.8
64.0
2.8
83
45
12
2.91
60%
1.54
78
72
San Angelo
68.3
0.1
46.7
4.1
57.5
2.1
80
34
8
1.06
98%
0.32
228
10
San Antonio
70.5
-1.4
54.2
5.4
62.4
2.0
81
45
14
3.41
130%
1.04
120
49
Victoria*
73.0
-0.4
57.0
4.6
65.0
2.1
82
46
13
10.11
413%
4.77
68
73
Waco*
67.0
-1.8
52.0
5.4
59.0
1.3
79
37
18
3.50
144%
1.01
184
25
Wichita Falls
64.4
0.2
46.2
5.6
55.3
2.9
81
36
9
2.27
147%
1.74
290
10
Shreveport, LA
66.8
0.0
49.2
4.7
58.0
2.3
79
36
15
4.59
122%
1.40
215
15

* 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
*CDD - Cooling degree-day: Refer to the Monthly Average chart for a definition
T = Trace (<0.005")
M: Information not available.




 
 
 

CLIMATIC AVERAGES FOR DECEMBER


 
Rec Rec Gr'st Gr'st
Mean # of Days
Avg Avg High Low Avg Mon 24 hr Pcpn
Max Min  Max Min Pcpn Pcpn Pcpn Max. T. Min. T >or=
Station Temp Temp Temp Temp (In) (In) (In) >90°F <32°F 0.01" HDD* CDD*
Abilene
57
34
89
-7
1.03
6.28
2.62
0
14
5
605
0
Amarillo
50
24
81
-8
0.43
4.52
3.11
0
27
4
871
0
Austin
62
41
90
4
1.88
14.16
6.19
0
5
8
426
10
Brownsville
72
52
94
16
1.25
9.45
5.69
0
1
7
177
87
College Station
62
41
89
2
2.83
12.66
7.50
0
8
8
204
48
Corpus Christi
68
48
91
13
1.26
9.80
6.81
0
2
7
261
53
Dallas/Ft. Worth
58
36
88
-1
1.84
8.75
4.22
0
10
7
566
5
Del Rio
64
41
90
10
0.61
3.06
1.37
0
5
5
407
7
El Paso
58
31
80
5
0.57
3.29
1.76
0
18
4
648
0
Galveston
62
51
80
14
3.50
10.28
5.43
0
1
10
289
22
Houston
65
42
83
7
3.45
9.34
4.04
0
5
9
374
18
Lubbock
54
27
81
-2
0.53
2.24
1.12
0
24
4
756
0
Midland
58
31
85
-1
0.56
3.30
1.58
0
18
3
632
0
Port Arthur
64
44
84
12
4.81
17.98
9.98
0
4
9
352
21
San Angelo
59
33
91
-4
0.79
3.98
2.71
0
14
4
589
0
San Antonio
64
41
90
6
1.51
13.96
6.90
0
6
8
409
12
Victoria
66
45
88
9
2.04
6.97
6.12
0
3
8
322
31
Waco
59
37
91
-4
1.86
8.44
4.56
0
9
6
524
6
Wichita Falls
55
31
88
-7
1.29
6.93
2.98
0
17
5
688
0
Shreveport, LA
59
37
84
5
4.10
10.00
3.35
0
10
9
535
8
Sunrise/Sunset
SUNRISE
SUNSET
DAYTIME LENGTH
1st
7:18 am CST
5:33 pm CST
10 hr 15 min
31st
7:36 am CST
5:44 pm CST
10 hr 12 min
Moon Phases
NEW
FIRST QTR.
FULL
LAST QTR.
18th
26th
3rd
10th
4:44 pm CST
4:47 am CST
9:21 am CST
       11:55 am CST
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.



 

 Agricultural Weather Highlights

Sweet potato producers in east Texas were unhappy this November, as the crop yield falls to less than 30 percent of normal. This year's sweet potatoes failed to develop because of the extreme drought conditions and record-breaking temperatures. Extension horticulturist Marvin Baker of Overton said, "this crop is so pitiful that people who have storage sheds are calling out of state to find sweet potatoes to fill their sheds." Baker went on to explain that the root temperatures were just so hot, around 97 to 108 degrees, that the sweet potatoes did not swell and bust out like they are supposed to.

The Texas Agricultural Extension Service reported that fall rains came at just the right time for the wild life populations in Texas. Deer populations in Central and South Texas are good, while populations in East Texas have declined. Jose Pena, Extension economist in Uvalde, said the populations of deer are average, but bodyweight and antler sizes are below average. By the end of the month, wheat seemed to be recovering nicely across Texas considering the fact that it got a late start this season due to the lack of rain at planting. Galen Chandler, district Extension director in Vernon, said, "the wheat crop is doing well, but is by no means an excellent crop."

The harvesting of cotton continued all across the state throughout November. Certain areas of Texas also saw an abundance of precipitation in November with some locales receiving more than they could handle causing flooding which inhibited field activities. Central Texas, Coastal Bend and South Texas were three of the districts who dealt with excessive moisture problems. Central Texas, however, did see fall vegetable production and harvest being good to excellent.

The peanut harvest was nearing completion in Southeast and Southwest Texas, with Southwest Texas also harvesting cabbage, southern greens and spinach. On the other hand, the peanut crop was totally wiped out in North Texas with certain areas being hit with heavy rain on numerous occasions.

Good stands of oats were seen in East Texas, with the wheat stands not being as strong. West Central Texas also saw oat stands developing well under good soil moisture. On a negative note, the livestock market in West Central Texas was rather weak with supplemental feeding continuing.
 

Chris J. Gordon

                    Material obtained from:
                                                         TAMU Extension Crop, Livestock and Weather reports
 
 

Monthly Weather Outlook for December 1998

The 30-day outlook for the month of December indicates that temperatures will most likely be above normal for the entire state of Texas. The probabilities for warmer than normal temperatures increase southward from 33% in Northern Texas to a maximum of about 55% in extreme Southern Texas. The probabilities for December precipitation are exactly the same across the state as the probabilities for temperature except for the fact that they are indicating Texas will receive below normal precipitation with the highest probabilities also in extreme Southern Texas.

Past Weather Events in December

December 1-5, 1913: A rainstorm resulted in 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 $8,541,000 damage.

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

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

December 18-31, 1991: The month of December was one of the wettest in Texas since records began in1888. 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.