Fall Begins

Dalhart Weather Review
by Aaron Graves

The official start of fall (the autumn equinox) is set for Wednesday, Sept. 23. However, for weather enthusiasts, fall has already begun. It is called "meteorological fall" and it began yesterday. Summer begins to lose its grip around Sept. 1 which means milder days are in store on a normal year. But this is not a normal year. 



It is an El Niño year! Already, the Climate Prediction Center is calling for above average precipitation and below average temperatures for the Texas Panhandle through the end of November. 

So, how did the last few weeks of summer go here in Dalhart? We ended the month of August with 1.72" of precipitation as recorded at the airport. This was a good inch below normal. The only big rain event was on Aug. 17 and 18. That brought us 0.43". As of August 31, we have seen 13.43" of precipitation for the year, which is normal for this time of year. At this time last year, we had only seen 8.64", so enjoy!

Daily high temperatures have generally been in the upper 80's and low 90's since Aug. 11.  Of note was the new high temperature record we set on Aug. 22 - 101 degrees - which beat out the old record of 99 set just last year. The very next day, our high temperature maxed out at a refreshing 78 degrees. August 2015 ended with an average high of 91.2 degrees and an average low of 63.3 degrees.

Things are looking good for the Texas Panhandle throughout the end of November. As mentioned above, the Climate Prediction Center forecast a 40% chance of above average precipitation and a 33% chance of below average temperatures over the next three months. The Panhandle is still drought free according to the latest U.S. Drought Montitor map, although dry conditions have returned to eastern Texas. However, the CPC is not expecting the drought to dig in over there, calling for it to disappear over the next three months. 

High and low temps, and rainfall, past few weeks

Aug 11: 87, 66, 0.08"
Aug 12: 94, 67
Aug 13: 96, 67
Aug 14: 90, 71
Aug 15: 92, 65
Aug 16: 93, 67
Aug 17: 87, 63, 0.41"
Aug 18: 84, 64, 0.02"
Aug 19: 74, 58, trace
Aug 20: 83, 52
Aug 21: 90, 60
Aug 22: 101, 60
Aug 23: 78, 63
Aug 24: 90, 56
Aug 25: 94, 58
Aug 26: 96, 60
Aug 27: 96, 65
Aug 28: 91, 68, trace
Aug 29: 90, 62
Aug 30: 92, 52
Aug 31: 97, 55, trace