Dalhart Weather Review
By Aaron Graves
Yes, we are still in a drought. And yes, conditions are still expected to improve!
The latest seasonal outlook from the Climate Prediction Center calls for drought conditions in our area to ‘remain but improve’ through the end of January 2015. We still have a 33% chance of seeing above average precipitation over the next three months, which is great
news considering this is our driest time of the year.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map issued Oct. 21 has most of Dallam County in “severe drought”. Hartley County is split between “moderate drought” in the southwestern part and “severe drought” in the northeastern part. There is a patch of land considered “extreme drought” running from east of Dalhart southeast into most of Moore County.
Over the past week, we did not see any rain. Our month-to-date precipitation total stands at 1.01”, our year-to-date total is 11.20”. We enjoyed a warm weekend. Our high of 87 on Oct. 24 broke the record high of 85 degrees set in 2012. We finally maxed out with a high of 90 degrees on Oct. 26, before falling back into the 60's the next day.
High temperatures will continue in the upper 60's for the rest of this week. Overnight lows look to fall into the low 40's or upper 30's.
As for El Niño , forecasters at the CPC expect it “to develop during October-December 2014 and to continue into early 2015," according to their latest report. "The consensus of forecasters indicates a 2-in-3 chance of El Niño during the November 2014 - January 2015 season.”
El Niño is a warming of the Pacific Ocean water, which in turn shifts weather patterns around the world. Traditionally, El Niño makes our little corner of Texas wetter. By how much? That remains to be seen. “This El Niño will likely remain weak throughout its duration” and might last into the spring of 2015.
High and low temps the past week
Oct 21: 77, 45
Oct 22: 78, 56
Oct 23: 79, 49
Oct 24: 87, 47
Oct 25: 88, 42
Oct 26: 90, 47
Oct 27: 64, 45
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