Dangerous heat will expand from the Gulf Coast into the Southern Plains and Desert Southwest through week's end. Additional extreme heat impacting the Pacific Northwest will shift to the northern Plains by the weekend. Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to continue to impact portions of the northwestern Gulf Coast from south central Louisiana to the upper Texas coast today. Read More >
Comparison of the 30 Year Climatological Normals for Lubbock
(1971-2000 vs. 1981-2010 vs. 1991-2020)
In mid-2021, the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) released the latest 30 year climatological normals. The latest 30 year span encompasses 1991-2020, replacing the 1981-2010 time frame which has been the climatological mainstay for the past decade. The following is a comparative look at the new monthly normals at the Lubbock International Airport (KLBB) against the previous 30 year normals and the 1971-2000 normals. The 1991-2020 normals officially become operational in early May of 2021.
Overall, the latest normals depict a warmer and drier period than its predecessor. In fact, the average annual temperature at Lubbock increased by 0.7 degrees, and that is on top of a full degree rise the previous set of normals (between 1971-2000 and 1981-2010). Meanwhile, less precipitation fell in the 2010s than the 1980s, causing the new average annual precipitation for Lubbock to fall from 19.12 inches to 18.33 inches, a decrease of 0.79 inches. Regarding snowfall, the 1980s produced more snowfall across the area than the 2010s. With the 1980s snowfall no longer part of the 30-year climate record, the annual average snowfall has decreased by 1.2 inches.
|
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Avg
|
|
1971-2000
|
38.1
|
43.3
|
51.2
|
60.0
|
69.2
|
77.1
|
79.8
|
78.0
|
70.9
|
60.7
|
48.1
|
39.7
|
59.7
|
| 1981-2010 | 40.2 | 44.5 | 51.9 | 60.5 | 69.8 | 77.4 | 80.3 | 79.0 | 71.7 | 61.5 | 49.8 | 40.6 | 60.7 |
| Change 1971-2000 vs. 1981-2010 | +2.1 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +1.0 |
| 1991-2020 | 41.1 | 45.1 | 53.0 | 61.2 | 70.4 | 78.6 | 81.2 | 79.9 | 72.3 | 61.8 | 50.0 | 41.7 | 61.4 |
| Change 1981-2010 vs. 1991-2020 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +1,1 | +0.7 |
 |
| Plot of the climate normals (highs, lows and average temperature) at Lubbock for the 30 year periods of 1991-2020 and 1981-2010. A graph of the change (difference) between the 1991-2020 and 1981-2010 normals can be VIEWED HERE. |
|
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Avg
|
|
1971-2000
|
0.50
|
0.71
|
0.76
|
1.29
|
2.31
|
2.98
|
2.13
|
2.36
|
2.57
|
1.70
|
0.71
|
0.67
|
18.69
|
| 1981-2010 | 0.65 | 0.75 | 1.10 | 1.41 | 2.30 | 3.04 | 1.91 | 1.91 | 2.51 | 1.93 | 0.85 | 0.76 | 19.12 |
| Change 1971-2000 vs. 1981-2010 |
0.15 |
0.04 |
0.34 |
0.12 |
-0.01 |
0.06 |
-0.22 |
-0.45 |
-0.06 |
0.23 |
0.14 |
0.09 |
0.43 |
| 1991-2020 | 0.65 | 0.65 | 1.10 | 1.33 | 2.69 | 2.58 | 1.96 | 1.74 | 2.55 | 1.53 | 0.80 | 0.75 | 18.33 |
| Change 1981-2010 vs. 1991-2020 |
0 |
-0.10 |
0 |
-0.08 |
0.39 |
-0.46 |
0.05 |
-0.17 |
0.04 |
-0.40 |
-0.05 |
-0.01 |
-0.79 |
 |
| Plot of the climate normals (precipitation and snowfall) at Lubbock for the 30 year periods of 1991-2020 and 1981-2010. A graph of the change (difference) between the 1991-2020 and 1981-2010 precipitation normals can be VIEWED HERE. |
|
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Avg
|
|
1971-2000
|
3.0
|
2.4
|
0.5
|
0.2
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.3
|
1.6
|
2.4
|
10.4
|
| 1981-2010 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 8.2 |
| Change 1971-2000 vs. 1981-2010 | -0.4 | -0.8 | 0.1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | -0.3 | -0.7 | -0.1 | -2.2 |
| 1991-2020 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 7.0 |
| Change 1981-2010 vs. 1991-2020 | -1.0 | -0.2 | -0.2 | -0.1 | - | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -1.2 |
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