Volume 18 Number 12.1 2005
In contrast to the wet year
of 2004, 2005 saw drought conditions develop and persist over the entire
state. On December 27, the U.S. Drought
Monitor had all regions in the state except the Edwards Plateau in drought
conditions. The North Central,
Northeast, and Southern regions of the state were listed in extreme drought
conditions. The Drought Monitor began to
signal drought conditions during May and conditions only got worse.
In January, the state had
above average temperatures with Lubbock, Abilene,
Waco, Dallas/Forth Worth, San Antonio, and San Angelo recording mean temperatures over 5° above
average. In terms of precipitation, only
the Gulf Coast and the Central Western regions of the state reported
below average rainfall.
During February, temperatures
continued to be slight above normal, with most locations only 1° from
average. Only the extreme Northeast and Lower Valley regions recorded below average precipitation.
March was about 1° below
normal in most locations but the areas to the north of the Brazos River received below average precipitation. Wichita Falls only reported 18% of its normal precipitation for the
month with 0.41.
April was a very, very dry
month for the entire state. Many first-order stations received less than a
tenth of an inch of rainfall for the entire month including Abilene (0.01), Brownsville (0.03), Del Rio (0.05), Midland (0.01), San Angelo (0.03), and San Antonio (0.01). San Antonio had their driest April ever, while several other
stations (Abilene, Brownsville,
Dallas/Fort Worth, Del
Rio, Midland, San Angelo,
and Wichita Falls) each had one of their ten driest Aprils on
record. No first-order stations reported
above average precipitation during the month. Temperature were
relatively normal.
May reported temperatures
around normal, and the western portions of the state reported above average
rainfall totals. However, Central Texas
was dry with Austin receiving 3.13(61% of normal), Dallas/Forth Worth receiving
3.35(65% of normal), and College Station receiving 2.48(49% of normal).
June was another very dry
month. Temperatures were slightly above
normal, but the lack of precipitation was the months main story. Only a trace
of rainfall was recorded in El Paso.
Also, Brownsville, Del Rio, Galveston,
and Houston received less than 10% of their normal precipitation.
Only two stations, Wichita
Falls and Lubbock, reported over 60% of their normal monthly rainfall.
July provided some relief for
the state as the rainfall totals were above average in most locations. In fact,
College Station received 4.63 of total precipitation, 241% of the
average monthly total. However, the
North Central and Trans Pecos regions of Texas reported rainfall totals below average with DFW reporting
35% of normal, Waco reporting 48% of normal, and El Paso reporting 44% of normal. For most stations the temperatures were right
on average, with a few locations in the South reporting temperatures 2-3° above
normal.
August provided some relief
for the North Central and Trans Pecos regions of Texas as they received above average rainfall totals. Unfortunately, the southern portion of the
state reported below average precipitation.
In fact, Corpus
Christi only
reported 0.25, only 7% of the normal total.
Brownsville reported 26% of the normal total with 0.77.
The south was not only dry
but it was also very hot. Corpus Christi and Brownsville reported their warmest Augusts on record. The northern and western sections of the
state reported below average temperatures.
September was very warm and
dry. Many stations had the warmest September ever, including Austin, College Station, Dallas, and Houston. Corpus Christi set or tied record highs for eight consecutive days from the 22nd
through the 29th. College Station recorded a high of 105° on the 26th,
shattering the previous record high for the date by a full seven degrees. On
the same day, Austin Mabry recorded its highest ever autumn temperature of
107°. Needless to say, the heat wave was
one of historical proportions. Hurricane
Rita came ashore near the Beaumont/Port Arthur area, and the 24-hour rainfall
total reached 8.89.Regrettably, that was more rainfall than most of
the state received combined. All
stations except El
Paso,
Beaumont/Port Arthur, and Wichita Falls reported precipitation totals well below average. Along with having
its warmest September on record, College Station experienced its driest September on record with only
a trace of rainfall for the entire month. Midland did not even have a trace of rain, while other
stations such as Amarillo (0.14), Del Rio (0.02), and San Angelo (0.02) were also extremely dry.
October saw near average
temperatures around the state. Rainfall
in the western regions of the state provided some relief compared to the warm
and dry conditions of September.
However, the eastern areas of the state stayed dry. Amarillo, Dallas/Forth Worth, Houston, Port Arthur,
San Angelo, and Waco reported monthly rainfall totals under
1. So far, only January and August have
yielded above average rainfall totals in Dallas/Forth Worth as drought
conditions ravish the area.
November this year proved to
be warm and dry. Temperatures were 3-4° above average in most locations. All but three first-order stations (Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston) in Texas reported below average rainfall for the month. Eight
stations reported rainfall totals less than 0.02 with six of those stations, Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Abilene, El Paso, Del Rio, and San Angelo, reporting no measurable precipitation (0.00 or
Trace). The stations along the coast
proved to be the only stations in the state with a decent amount of rainfall
with Corpus Christi at 5.02, Brownsville at 1.84, Galveston at 3.86 and Houston at 2.72.
This December was very dry,
with only Houston and Brownsville above average.
In most locations around the state less than 30% of the normal
precipitation fell. Areas such as Abilene, Amarillo,
Austin, Del Rio, El Paso,
Lubbock, San Angelo,
and San Antonio saw less than 10% of the average precipitation, with El Paso and Lubbock recording no precipitation. Temperatures at the beginning of the month
were below average whereas temperatures at the end of the month were well above
average. The result was mean
temperatures near average for the entire month.
For the entire year, Brownsville, San Antonio,
and Dallas/Forth Worth top the list with the least amount of normal
precipitation. Brownsville received 51% of normal, San Antonio received 50% of normal, and Dallas/Fort Worth
received 55% of normal. Other locations including Austin, Galveston,
and Waco received less than 70% of their normal rainfall
totals. Only Del Rio and El Paso received above average rainfall totals for the year.
2005 Precipitation
Departures are based
on 1971-2000 normals
*
T = Trace (<0.005")
M: Information not available.
2005
Temperatures
Dr.
John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)
Matt
Mosier (Undergraduate Assistant)