Texas's climate varies widely, from arid in the west to humid in the east. The huge expanse
of Texas encompasses several regions with distinctly different climates: Northern Plains,
Trans-Pecos Region, Texas Hill Country, Piney Woods, and South Texas. Generally speaking,
the eastern half of Texas is humid subtropical, while the western half is semi-arid. While
snowfall is more common across northern Texas than in its southern sections, snow has fallen
heavily near and along the middle and upper Texas coastline.
Texas ranks first in tornado occurrence with an average of 139 per year. Tropical cyclones
can affect the state, either from the Gulf of Mexico or from an overland trajectory originating
in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Those originating from the Gulf of Mexico are more likely to
strike the upper Texas coast than elsewhere. Significant floods have occurred across the
state throughout history, both from tropical cyclones and from stalled weather fronts.
Characteristics by Reigion Northern Plains
The Northern Plains' climate is semi-arid and is prone to drought, annually receiving
between 16 and 32 inches of precipitation, and average annual snowfall ranging between
15 to 30 inches, with the greatest snowfall amounts occurring in the Texas panhandle and
areas near the border with New Mexico. During the summer, this area of state sees the most
clear days. Winter nights commonly see temperatures fall below the freezing mark, or 32 °F.
The wettest months of the year are April and May. Tornadoes, caused by the convergence
of westerly and southerly prevailing winds during the late spring, are common, making
the region part of Tornado Alley. Poor land management, drought, and high wind speeds
can cause large dust storms, minimized in modern times by improved land-management practices,
but most troublesome in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl period. The panhandle region, farthest
from the Gulf of Mexico, experiences colder winters than the other regions of Texas, where
occasional wintertime Arctic blasts can cause temperatures to plunge to well below freezing
and bring blizzard conditions. Trans Pecos Region
The Trans-Pecos region, also known as Big Bend Country, is in the west-central and western
parts of the state, consisting of the Chihuahuan Desert and isolated mountain ranges. During
fall, winter, and spring, it experiences the most clear days statewide. It is also the
driest receiving an average annual rainfall of only 16 inches or less. Snowfall is rare
at lower elevations, although the highest mountain peaks are prone to heavy snowfalls
during winter. The arid climate is the main reason for desertification of the land, but
overgrazing is slowly widening the land area of that desert. In the mountain areas one
can see coniferous forests in a wetter and more temperate environment. The wettest months
in this region occur during the summer. Winds are strengthened as they are forced to push
through canyons and valleys. In the flatter areas these winds are harvested into usable
electricity. Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country, or central Texas is shaped by its many rivers and hills. The climate
is semi-arid, with cool winters and hot summers. The vegetation is both deciduous in the river
valleys, and coniferous where there is greater elevation. In a single year the region can
receive up to 48 inches of rain, and flooding is common near rivers and in low lying areas.
The wettest months of the year are April and May.
Piney Woods
The Piney Woods is the eastern region of Texas and is within the humid subtropical climate
zone. It receives the most rainfall; more than 60 inches annually in the far east.[5]
This is due to the gulf currents that carry humid air to the region, where it condenses
and precipitates out in the vicinity of sea breeze fronts as well as when extratropical
cyclones move by. While coastal sections see the most cloudy days statewide and year-round,
northern sections see the most clear days during the summer. The wettest months of the
year are April and May. The area is prone to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes when
the proper conditions exist, generally in the springtime. Hurricanes also strike the
region, the most disastrous of which was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. More recently
Hurricane Rita pummeled the Golden Triangle of southeast Texas. The higher humidity of
the region amplifies the feeling of heat during the summer. During winter and spring along
the immediate coast, temperatures are kept cool by relatively cool gulf waters. Dense
advection fog can form when warm air moves over the cool shelf waters during February
and March, stopping ship traffic for days. South
The region of South Texas includes the semiarid ranch country and the wetter Rio Grande Valley.
Considered to be the southernmost tip of the American Great Plains region, the inland region
has rainfall that is similar to that of the Northern Plains. The coastal areas are nearly
warm most of the year due to currents of the Gulf of Mexico, but can get cold in winter
if a strong front comes in, and sometimes even causing snow at sea level. Summers are
hot and humid. Rain in the coastal region is more abundant than in the inland region,
and subtropical forests line the Rio Grande. The wettest months of the year are April and
May. Inland, where it is drier, ranches dominate the landscape, characterized by thick spiny
brush and grasslands. The winters in the inland region are cold and dry as Arctic air makes
it into the region, therefore making snow a rare occurrence due to the lack of humidity
in winter, and the summers are for the most part hot and dry, but at times can be humid
if winds come off the warmer Gulf of Mexico. Tornadoes can occur in this region, but less
frequent than in other parts of the state. Cold and snow
Northern and western sections of the state average snowfall annually due to their colder
average readings each winter. For one week in February 1956, a snow storm of historic
proportions struck northern Texas. The maximum amount measured was 61 inches at Vega with
Plainview receiving 24 inches in one day. El Paso, in Far West Texas, received 22.4
in of snow during a 24-hour period 13–14 December 1987. For central and southern sections,
snowfall is considerably more unusual, but not unprecedented. In February 1895, a large
area of southeastern Texas received over 12 inches of snow, with peak amounts near 30
inches at Port Arthur. More recently around Christmas of 2004, up to 13 inches of snow
fell along the middle coast, with the maximum occurring at Victoria.
The worst cold snap to occur statewide occurred during the last half of December in 1983.
Four stations recorded their longest continuous readings at or below 32 °F on record. At
Austin, the temperature remained at or below freezing for 139 hours. At Abilene, the period
at or below freezing totaled 202 hours. Lubbock saw temperatures at or below freezing for
207 hours. The Dallas-Fort Worth airport measured temperatures at or below freezing
for a total of 296 consecutive hours. Snow which fell on December 14 and December 15
across northern Texas stayed on the ground until New Year's Day of 1984.
Severe weather Thunderstorms are very common in Texas, especially
the eastern and northern portion of the state. Texas is part of the Tornado Alley section
of the country. The state experiences the most tornadoes in the Union, an average of
139 a year. These strike most frequently in North Texas and the Panhandle. Tornadoes in
Texas generally occur in the months of April, May, and June.
Hurricanes
Texas's position at the northwestern end of the Gulf of Mexico makes it vulnerable to
hurricanes. Some of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Texas. A hurricane
in 1875 killed approximately 400 people in Indianola, followed by another hurricane in
1886 that destroyed the town, which was at the time the most important port city in the
state. This allowed Galveston to take over as the chief port city, but it was subsequently
devastated by a hurricane in 1900 that killed approximately 8,000 people, making it the
deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Other devastating Texas hurricanes include
the 1915 Galveston Hurricane, Hurricane Carla in 1961, Hurricane Beulah in 1967, Hurricane
Alicia in 1983, Hurricane Rita in 2005, and Hurricane Ike in 2008.
The climatology of where tropical cyclone strikes are most likely within the state appears
to be changing. In the early 1980s, the most favored region for strikes during the previous
century was the middle coast. However, that region of the coastline has been rarely impacted
since the 1960s, and a recent study indicates that the most vulnerable location to a tropical
cyclone strike since 1851 is the upper coast, which has received 56 percent of all tropical
cyclone landfalls, of which 66 percent originate from the Gulf of Mexico. This is in contrast
with Louisiana and the lower Texas coast, where only 39 percent of the landfalls are
from tropical cyclones of Gulf of Mexico origin. Flooding
The most serious threat from tropical cyclones in Texas residents is from flooding. The worst
aspect about tropical cyclones is that the weaker they are, the more efficient they can
be at producing heavy rains and catastrophic flooding. Systems with sprawling circulations,
such as Hurricane Beulah, also tend to make good rainmakers. Slow moving systems, such
as Tropical Storm Amelia also can produce significant rainfall over the Lone Star State.
Tropical cyclones from both the eastern Pacific and Atlantic Basins can impact the Lone Star
State. In general, flooding across Texas is more common during the spring and early autumn
months, and it can also be due to nearby stationary fronts interacting with strong upper level
cyclones. The most likely location for floods statewide is the Balcones Escarpment, an area
of steep elevation gradient in central Texas at the boundary between the Edwards Plateau
and the coastal plain. El Niño–Southern Oscillation
The El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycle is a huge impact on the weather in Texas.
During the El Niño phase, the jet stream is located west-to-east across the southern
portion of the United States. Therefore, winters in Texas are colder and receive more snowfall
than normal. Texas is also less likely to get impacted by hurricanes due to the increased
wind shear across the Atlantic. During the opposite phase, La Niña, the jet stream is
much further north, therefore winter is milder and drier than normal. Hurricanes are more
likely to impact Texas during La Niña due to decreased wind shear in the Atlantic. Droughts
in Texas are much more likely during La Niña. The 2010-11 La Niña is mostly to blame for
one of the worst droughts in Texas history. Climate change
Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the US. The state's annual carbon dioxide emissions
are nearly 1.5 trillion pounds. Texas would be the world's seventh-largest producer of
greenhouse gases if it were an independent nation. The primary factors in Texas' greenhouse
gas emissions are the state's large number of coal power plants and the state's refining
and manufacturing industries which provides the bulk of the United States' petroleum products.
Notes