NWS Lubbock Hot and Dry 2011

2011: A Record Hot and Dry Year!

If you thought that it was abnormally HOT and DRY year, you would definitely be correct, as the period from October 2010 through September 2011 was the warmest and driest such period on record. Of particular note was the extreme heat that occurred during the Summer of 2011 (June-August)! Almost every significant 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, July, and August 2011 were the warmest three months ever recorded at Lubbock and Childress! Below are some additional statistics that illustrate how unusual this year has been!

Days with highs of 100 degrees or higher (through November 5, 2011)
Lubbock			Childress
Rank	Number of Days	Year	Rank	Number of Days	Year
1	48	2011	1	99	2011
2	29	1934	2	71	1934
3	26	1994	3	70	1939
4	25	1998	4	58	1930
5	24	1924	5	56	1936
T6	22	2006	T6	53	1998
T6	22	1940	T6	53	1943
T6	22	1936	T8	52	1946
T6	22	1930	T8	52	1937
10	20	1990	10	51	1945

Days with highs of 90 degrees or higher (through November 5, 2011)
Lubbock			Childress
Rank	Number of Days	Year	Rank	Number of Days	Year
1	131	2011	1	142	1939
2	122	1956	2	138	2011
3	119	1934	3	133	1956
4	116	1939	4	129	1998
5	114	1931	5	127	1933
6	108	1933	6	126	1938
7	107	2006	7	124	1934
8	106	2000	8	123	1931
9	105	1942	T9	122	1963
10	104	1953	T9	122	1953

Days with lows of 75 degrees or higher (through November 5, 2011)
Lubbock			Childress
Rank	Number of Days	Year	Rank	Number of Days	Year
1	27	2011	1	61	2011
T2	10	1978	2	46	1934
T2	10	1966	2	33	1998
T4	9	1998	3	31	1980
T4	9	1980	5	25	1970
6	7	2001	T6	24	1964
7	6	2003	T6	24	1954
8	5	1994	T6	24	1953
T9	3	2009	T9	23	1969
T9	3	2006	T9	23	1956

Number of Consecutive 90+ and 100+ Days
The streak of 90+ degree days at Lubbock and Childress finally ended at 100 straight days on September 3rd. Both Lubbock and Childress 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 there 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 temperature only reached 96 degrees at Childress that afternoon.

*Consecutive 90+ Degree Days* *(through* *November 5, 2011)*
Lubbock			Childress
Rank	Number of Days	Year	Rank	Number of Days	Year
1	100*	2011	1	100*	2011
2	81	1934	T2	88	1980
3	67	1933	T2	88	1934
T4	56	2001	4	80	2000
T4	56	1943	5	72	1937
T6	53	1953	6	70	1931
T6	53	1936	7	68	1933
8	50	2000	8	64	1969
9	44	1980	T9	56	1893
10	39	2006	T10	53	1954
* Streak ended on September 3, 2011.

*Consecutive 100+ Degree Days* *(through* *October 23, 2011)*
Lubbock			Childress
Rank	Number of Days	Year	Rank	Number of Days	Year
1	12	1980	1	50*	2011
2	11	1994	2	32	1943
3	10	1924	3	28	1980
4	9*	2011	4	26	1939
T5	8	1990	5	24	1937
T5	8	1986	6	22	1954
T5	8	1928	7	21	1934
T8	7**	2011	T8	20	1978
T8	7	2003	T8	20	1936
T8	7	1940	10	19	1940
Streak ended on August 10, 2011 *Streak ended on June 29, 2011

Precipitation

Overall, it has been the driest start to a calendar year by a significant margin at both Lubbock and Childress. The year to date precipitation total at Lubbock is a staggering 4.27" below the next closest year (2003) and 4.57" below the year to date total in 1917, which was the driest year on record at Lubbock. At Childress, nearly double the amount of rainfall has fallen in comparison to Lubbock, but 2011 still ranks 2.06" drier than next driest year for the same period, 1956.

Lowest Year to Date Precipitation Totals (January 1 - November 5)
Lubbock			Childress
Rank	Precipitation (in)	Year	Rank	Precipitation (in)	Year
1	4.08"	2011	1	7.71"	2011
2	8.35"	2003	2	9.79"	1956
3	8.65"	1917	3	10.53"	1954
4	8.78"	1927	4	11.55"	1967
5	9.17"	1934	5	11.60"	1917
6	9.36"	1924	6	11.79"	1984
7	9.44"	1918	7	12.01"	1970
8	9.93"	1933	8	13.41"	1980
9	10.33"	1943	9	13.42"	1943
10	10.53"	1956	10	13.89"	1952

There remains a little under two months left in calendar the year, but if precipitation doesn't fall much 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.

Lowest Yearly Precipitation Totals
Lubbock			Childress
Rank	Precipitation (in)	Year	Rank	Precipitation (in)	Year
1	4.08" (through Nov 5th)	2011	1	7.71" (through Nov5th)	2011
2	8.73"	1917	2	10.44"	1956
3	8.81"	2003	3	11.31"	1954
4	9.54"	1924	4	12.57"	1917
5	9.59"	1927	5	12.58"	1967