2011 July Heat Dry Lubbock National Weather Service

 Record Hot and Dry Summer of 2011!
(June 1st through August 31st)

If you thought that it was abnormally HOT and DRY this summer, you would definitely be correct! Almost every signficiant heat related record was broken by the end of the summer at both Lubbock and Childress, and in most cases they were shattered!  In fact, June and July 2011 were the two warmest months ever on record at Lubbock and July and August 2011 were the warmest two months ever recorded at Childress! The average temperature for the entire summer was 86.0 degrees at Lubbock and 90.0 degrees at Childress, almost 2.5 to 3 degrees HIGHER than the next closest year! This made  the summer of 2011 the hottest on record across the Southern Plains region by a significant margin! Below are some additional statistics that illustrate how unusual this summer has been!      

Temperature Averages

As mentioned above, the average temperature was between 2.5 to 3 degrees higher than the next closest year at both Lubbock and Childress. As you might imagine, one reason it was very abnormally hot this year was that daytime high temperatures were very unusually warm. As it is shown in the next section, high temperatures reached 90 degrees or higher EVERY DAY during meteorological summer (June 1-August 31) at both sites, the first time on record that this has ever occurred. Additionally, the mercury exceeded 100 degrees for all but TEN days during the entire summer at Childress, while Lubbock reached the century mark 44 times or about one half of the days of meteorological summer. As a result, the average high temperatures were record breaking a by a big margin and were also between 2.5 to 3 degrees higher than the next closest year! However, it was not just high temperatures that pushed this summer over the edge in record breaking fashion, as overnight low temperatures were very unusually warm as well. The low temperature at Lubbock was 75 degrees or higher about 1/3 of the summer, and at Childress over 2/3 of the days were at or above this threshold. This is something that is unprecedented for our region and has never remotely come close to occurring before this year. As a result, these significantly unusual temperatures helped to push the summer of 2011 way over the top as the hottest summer on record across the southern Plains region.

 
Number of Excessively Hot Days and Warm Nights
Lubbock has shattered its previous record for most days over 100 degrees and most nights with lows of 75 degrees or higher in a single year. Childress has also eclipsed its annual 100 degree day record as well as its record for most lows of 75 degrees or higher by a wide margin as well. The only remaining significant record that could be broken across the Southern Plains region this year are the number of days at or above 90 degrees. As of August 31, 2011, this 90+ degree total currently stands tied for 3rd place all time at Lubbock, only seven shy of setting the all-time record. Meanwhile, Childress (where it is typically warmer during the autumn months) still has a way to go as its 119 days of 90+ degree days stands in 12th place and is still 23 days short of the all-time mark in that category. However, given the expected warm and dry conditions this fall, these marks could very well be broken sometime in September or October. 

  
Number of Consecutive 90+ and 100+ Days
The current streak of 90+ degree days at Lubbock and Childress both stand at 97 days through August 31th, as neither site has failed to reach this plateau since May 26th. Both Lubbock and Childress have easily eclipsed their all time mark for most 90+ degree days, breaking records set in 1934 and 1980 respectively. In addition, back in June, Lubbock reached 100 degrees for seven straight days from June 23rd - June 29th, tying it for 8th place all time. More recently, Lubbock hit 100 degrees or higher for 9 straight days from August 2nd through August 10th, placing that streak 4th longest all-time.  Childress has been even hotter as the mercury has reached the 100 degree plateau for 50 consecutive days, starting on June 22nd and extending through the entire month of July. Mercifully, this mark of 50 straight days came to an end on August 11th as the mercury only reached 96 degrees at Childress that afternoon. 

Precipitation

At Lubbock, the extremely dry conditions have persisted from spring through the entire summer. This June through August easily ranks as the driest such period on record at Lubbock. 2011 will go down as the only year that has ever had less than an inch or even less than two inches of rain during this same period. However, it should be noted that the "official" observing site at the Lubbock Intl Airport is only one point and that some locations in Lubbock Couny received around 2.5 to 3 of rain during the month of August. However, since most of these storms impacted southern portions of Lubbock county, the official observing site at the airport has only received 0.39" has  from June 1st - August 31st.

Childress, too, has been dry, though they did pick up over two inches of rain over the June-July stretch, mostly in mid-July. Regardless, exceptional drought conditions still prevail across almost all of the South Plains region as both Lubbock and Childress are around 12 inches below normal for the year to this point. 

Regardless of the heavier rainfall that occurred in certain localized areas, expectional drought conditions will persist into the autumn months as we continue to experience record levels of dryness areawide! 

There remains four months left in the year, but if precipitation doesn't begin to fall more regularly and more heavily then we have seen to this point, 2011 stands a very good chance of going down as the driest year on record. The final chart below shows how the yearly rainfall to this point stacks up against the driest years on record. Of note, the previous driest January through August 31st stretch at Lubbock was in 1917 (currently the driest year on record), though even in 1917 they recorded 5.06" (by August 31st), considerably more than this year.