Anyone who lives in Texas, (below the Panhandle), knows our fall is usually a month behind astronomical autumn on September 23rd. Thanksgiving week usually shows a spectacular leaf fall, with dozens of black plastic bags camped out on the streets and alleys of North Texas.
Early October showed no signs of getting into the spirit of things as the first five days of the month topped out in the 90’s. Despite a stormy cold front on October 4th, summertime temperatures stayed stubbornly above normal most of the month with a 92-degree high as late as the 21st. As tough as the late summer temperatures were, the ongoing drought was just as stubborn.
But just before Halloween, summer surrendered and fall finally fell. Our warmest temperature of the month, 95, was recorded on October 4th. Our coolest temperature (as of 10/28) was 34 on the morning of October 14th. Even colder overnight temperatures in were forecast for the first week of November. Our average high for the month was 82, a significant 3 degrees warmer than normal. The average overnight low was 56, nearly 4 degrees above normal.
Despite the storms on the 4th, the rain gauge at Denton Enterprise Airport remained dusty until the 23rd, which saw .67”. The next day, Denton recorded another .56” of rain. On the 25th, a record rainfall of 2.43” finally put us in the plus-column for October rainfall. Enterprise picked up another 2 inches of rain over the 27th and 28th bringing October’s rainfall to nearly 9 inches, which was 5 inches above October’s normal rainfall. Total rainfall through the first 10 months of 2023 is around 25 inches, still 6 inches below normal for the year.
It’s not unusual for Texas to break a drought with a flood, and that’s precisely what happened on October 26-30. A complex of surface lows in Colorado and New Mexico, produced strong southeast winds off the Gulf as a Pacific storm system (with moisture left over from Category-5 hurricane “Norma”) produced strong lift in the atmosphere. When a routine cold front on the 26th meandered south of the Red River, encountering moisture from both Pacific and the Gulf, torrential rains began across North Texas. Lewisville Lake reported a two-day rainfall total of nearly 5 inches, while Dallas Water Utilities reported over 19” of rain in 24 hours.
Looking ahead, the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting near-normal temperatures and rainfall for November. We’ll see.
Brad Barton is Chief Meteorologist of WBAP 820 and 570 KLIF.
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