Denton County sweltered through exceptionally hot, dry August

August is generally the time of year when we finally get our fill of summer and start wishing for a break in the day-after-day monotony of hot, dry weather; no more so than this year.

The past month has been sharply warmer than normal with almost no precipitation through August 27^th. Despite some breezy days, North Texas has escaped most serious wildfires, but a hot, dry August often leads to a hot, dry September. If the current, semi-permanent high-pressure system remains strong, while deflecting any tropical systems in the Gulf of Mexico, watering restrictions could turn into watering bans extending throughout North Texas. As of this writing, a weak cold front was forecast to produce some spotty showers and isolated thunderstorms over Labor Day.

By the numbers, August was exceptionally hot and dry. The hottest temperature so far in August was 107 degrees, recorded on the 19^th, while 69 was the coolest on August 8^th. The average high temperature during August was 100.4, which was four degrees hotter than the normal average high of 96.1. The average low was 76.2, which was three degrees above the norm of 73. At least 14 days in August topped out at or above 100 degrees. The day/night average temperature for August worked out to 88.3, which was nearly 4 degrees warmer than normal.

As of Aug. 27, rainfall was virtually nil at .03” which was recorded on August 3^rd. The last significant rain recorded at Denton Enterprise Airport was .69” on July 21^st. Since then, Denton has been left high and dry for the past five weeks in a row. So far in 2024, Denton has received 29 inches of rain, roughly 7” above normal for this time of year. Once again, the 17 inches of rain received in April and May have kept lake levels respectable, but vegetation is browning out in a hurry, now.

Lake Ray Roberts, Lake Grapevine and Lewisville Lake are still at or above 98% of capacity. West and southwest of Denton County, Lake Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth are averaging 65-70% of capacity.

The Climate Prediction Center forecasts Texas and much of the southern half of the lower 48 will have warmer-than-normal temperatures during September, while rainfall is expected to remain below normal.