Volume 11 Number 10                                                                                                         OCTOBER 1998
 

October was an overall warm month for the State of Texas. Above normal mean monthly temperatures were seen at all the first order stations in Texas. Even though all of the departures from normal were positive, they were not as large as the positive anomalies that were experienced in the month of September. 96°F was the highest temperature recorded in Texas for October and was recorded at Abilene, Waco, and Wichita Falls. The coldest temperatures were up in the Panhandle where 36°F and 41°F were reported at Amarillo and Lubbock respectively.

Most of Texas received above normal precipitation with only 4 first order stations (Wichita Falls, Abilene, Midland, and Del Rio) reporting below normal monthly precipitation totals. October 1998 was the 3rd wettest October on record for Austin where the monthly total reached 12.39". As for San Antonio, October 1998 was the wettest month ever with its monthly precipitation total equaling 18.07". This phenomenal total was 14.90" above normal.

During the middle of the first week of October strong thunderstorms passed over North Texas bringing heavy rainfall and some localized flooding to some areas. A new record 24hr rainfall was set on the 2nd at Dallas/Fort Worth where 3.54 inches of rain fell. From October 17th to the 19th a series of upper air disturbances moving across Southern Texas set up a heavy rain event over South Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country. The passage of a cool front along with moisture taps from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean only worsened the situation. Torrential rains erupted across Southern and Eastern Texas with the areas in Southcentral Texas being hit the hardest.

By the end of the month, the focus of significant rainfall shifted into Western and Northern Texas. Midland, Texas received 0.70" of rain between the 21st and the 22nd of October, while some other local areas in Western Texas reported totals in excess of 1". The last week of October brought heavy rain to the Panhandle with most of the region receiving more than 4" of rain from the 25th to the 31st. The heavy rain eliminated topsoil dryness while also causing some localized flooding.
 
 
 

                                                         Prepared by: John F. Griffiths (State Climatologist)

Chris J. Gordon (Graduate Assistant)
 
 
 

OCTOBER 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
80.5
2.6
58.2
3.4
69.4
3.0
96
44
8
1.52
61%
0.54
47
188
Amarillo
72.5
0.0
48.3
3.8
60.4
1.9
89
36
10
6.48
473%
3.36
180
43
Austin
79.8
-2.3
63.4
1.0
71.6
0.5
92
51
9
12.39
361%
6.24
17
231
Brownsville
84.7
-0.6
68.8
2.7
76.8
1.1
92
60
18
3.69
132%
1.11
0
372
College Station
80.5
0.3
61.9
3.3
71.2
1.8
92
49
16
8.85
232%
6.17
14
207
Corpus Christi
82.8
-1.1
68.0
4.1
75.4
1.5
92
56
11
7.89
261%
3.03
1
329
Dallas/Ft. Worth
78.7
0.2
60.3
4.5
69.5
2.3
94
48
8
5.69
162%
3.54
31
177
Del Rio
80.1
-1.6
63.6
3.9
71.8
1.1
92
48
9
1.46
65%
0.91
15
236
El Paso*
76.0
-2.4
55.0
5.4
66.0
2.0
90
46
9
2.14
282%
1.13
83
108
Houston
82.2
0.6
62.9
5.3
72.6
3.0
93
47
7
7.77
182%
4.04
9
249
Lubbock
76.1
1.4
52.3
4.2
64.2
2.8
90
41
8
3.06
165%
1.14
106
89
Midland*
80.0
2.7
57.0
6.4
69.0
5.0
95
44
6
1.30
75%
0.49
48
178
Port Arthur*
81.0
0.8
64.0
4.8
73.0
3.3
93
47
10
5.34
124%
2.32
9
262
San Angelo
78.9
0.1
56.9
3.3
67.9
1.7
93
43
6
2.39
100%
1.30
57
156
San Antonio
79.8
-1.9
62.8
4
71.3
1.1
93
45
8
18.07
570%
13.35
22
224
Victoria*
81.0
-1.4
65.0
4.1
73.0
1.3
91
49
12
8.24
238%
3.27
5
271
Waco*
80.0
-0.3
61.0
4.2
71.0
2.5
96
44
12
6.61
197%
1.96
31
213
Wichita Falls
79.2
2.3
57.8
5.6
68.5
3.9
96
44
7
2.71
99%
1.18
47
163
Shreveport, LA
78.3
-0.6
58.6
4.1
68.5
1.8
92
43
9
5.72
217%
2.08
37
152

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


 
 
 
 

CLIMATIC AVERAGES FOR NOVEMBER


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
66
43
92
14
1.48
4.60
2.43
0
5
4
317
14
Amarillo
60
32
87
0
0.43
2.26
1.53
0
15
4
588
0
Austin
72
50
91
20
2.37
7.91
5.09
0
1
7
175
52
Brownsville
78
59
97
31
1.51
7.69
4.08
1
0
6
50
161
College Station
70
49
94
19
3.15
9.28
3.61
0
3
7
204
48
Corpus Christi
76
56
98
28
1.59
8.53
3.44
<1
<1
6
95
116
Dallas/Ft. Worth
67
45
89
20
2.29
6.23
2.83
0
3
6
275
11
Del Rio
72
49
96
22
0.92
3.36
2.74
<1
1
5
171
33
El Paso
66
38
87
1
0.44
1.63
1.19
0
8
3
378
0
Galveston
69
59
85
26
3.37
16.18
9.01
0
0
8
123
99
Houston
72
50
89
19
3.79
8.91
4.19
0
2
9
181
61
Lubbock
63
37
86
-1
0.75
2.67
1.57
0
12
3
456
0
Midland
66
39
89
13
0.69
2.32
2.16
0
7
3
377
5
Port Arthur
71
51
88
22
4.85
10.84
7.26
0
1
8
177
63
San Angelo
68
43
93
13
1.08
3.55
2.16
<1
6
4
299
11
San Antonio
72
49
94
21
2.62
6.01
4.87
<1
2
7
180
42
Victoria
73
52
93
24
2.45
8.68
6.63
<1
1
7
147
84
Waco
69
47
92
17
2.43
6.24
4.26
<1
3
6
243
24
Wichita Falls
64
41
89
14
1.54
5.69
2.58
0
7
5
383
0
Shreveport, LA
68
45
88
16
4.45
10.81
6.51
0
3
8
264
15
Sunrise/Sunset
SUNRISE
SUNSET
DAYTIME LENGTH
1st
6:52 am CST
5:48 pm CST
10 hr 56 min
30 th
7:17 am CST
5:34 pm CST
10 hr 17 min
Moon Phases
NEW
FIRST QTR.
FULL
LAST QTR.
18th
26th
3rd
10th
10:28 pm CST
6:24 pm CST
11:20 pm CST
 6:29 pm 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

Early on in the month of October, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service reported that this year's pumpkin crop survived this summer's drought with flying colors. The extension horticuturalist, Roland Roberts said, "We are looking at an excellent crop this year because the growers worked against the extreme heat and winds with determination." Roland went on to state, "the yields may not be as high because of heat, but there is no place in Texas that has the high quality pumpkins that we do in the High Plains." Pumpkin patches were filled with all kinds of different variety pumpkins.

This fall has also brought along great planting conditions for onions. The onions are planted around now, but they are not harvested until around June. Joe Pena, Extension economist in Uvade said in South Texas alone, there are close to 8,000 acres of onions planted each year producing 700 to 900 pounds of onions.

Heavy rain during the middle part of the month caused major problems for farmers. Farmers in Southwest Texas were hit the hardest with problems from the excessive rain. The peanut and pecan crops are going to experience the biggest losses according to Joe Pena. On a good note, the rains prompted pasture growth that will hopefully be enough to ease cattle producers into the winter months.

Wheat was being planted all across Texas with some locations being the districts of the Panhandle, West Central, South Plains and Rolling Plains. The corn, cotton, soybean, and peanut crops on the other hand were being harvested all throughout the month of October. North Texas dealt with infestations of armyworms causing damage to small grains and Forage. Armyworms were also a problem in East Texas where the extreme October rain was hurting fall vegetables. The harvesting of bell peppers and chilies were two of the focuses of the farmers in Far West Texas.

All of South Texas (South, Coastal Bend, Southeast, and Southwest districts) endured surplus soil moisture conditions by the end of the month. Onion planting was delayed because of the rains, while the peanut harvest experienced heavy losses. Work was halted in many instances due to the extremely moist and poor field conditions. Pasture and rangeland began responding well to the moist conditions in the Coastal Bend and South Texas districts. The tomato and melon crops were also progressing well in South Texas.

Chris J. Gordon

                             Material obtained from:

                                                                 TAMU Extension Crop, Livestock and Weather reports
 
 

Monthly Weather Outlook for November 1998

The 30-day outlook for the month of November indicates that temperatures will most likely be near normal for extreme Northeast Texas with the probabilities of above normal temperatures increasing to the Southwest with a maximum of 45% in southwestern Texas. The whole State of Texas is expected to experience below normal precipitation for the month of November. The probabilities for below normal precipitation increase from around 40% in North and East Texas to just under 45% in extreme West Texas.

Past Weather Events in November

November 3-4, 1964: In San Antonio, Bexar County, heavy rains caused flash flooding in sections of the city. At Las Palmas, an unofficial station, 4.55 inches of rain was reported. Four houses were completely inundated, and several automobiles were submerged. Several families had to be rescued by boat in the Mayberry community.

November 23-24, 1974: Over $1 million in property damage resulted from flash flooding in Central Texas. Thirteen people were killed by flood waters, ten of whom resided in Travis County.

November 21, 1992: Scores of people were injured when as many as ten tornadoes battered southeast Texas. Approximately $90 million in damage occurred as a result of these twisters. Nine hundred families were left homeless in the counties of Harris, Wharton, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Liberty, and Polk.