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Southern Plains Winter 2021-2022


Iceresistance
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So needless to say, 2021 was the warmest December on record for DFW.

But just to show how unprecedented it was:

 

*1st December ever to end with a monthly average greater than 60°F (61.3°F to be exact).

 

*Previous record for warmest December was shattered by a whopping +7.3 degrees.

 

*1st December ever to end with a positive double-digit departure from average (+13.2 degrees to be exact).

 

*1st December ever to end with an average high greater than 70°F (72.6°F to be exact).

 

*The previous record for highest December average high was shattered by a whopping +6.7 degrees.

 

*1st December ever to end with an average low of at least 50°F (50°F to be exact).

 

*Previous record for highest December average low was shattered by a whopping +6.6 degrees.

 

*Grandrand total of only 1 freeze (with a low of only 32°F to be exact)

 

*Grand total of only 1 day with a sub-50°F high (48°F to be exact).

 

*Total of 23 days (yes, you read that correctly) with a high of 70°F+

 

*Total of 8 days with a high of 80°F+

 

*Warmest Christmas day on record, with a high of 82°F (breaking the previous record of 80°F from 2016).

 

*Ended with a 9-day consecutive streak of 70°F+ highs.

This was all driven by a number of combined factors, including widespread moderate/severe drought conditions across the Southern Plains, an unusually deep -PNA (deepest in at least 16 years), and the MJO which only slowly progressed through two phases (6 & 7) that were favorable for warmer than normal tempertures in Texas.

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The year I flagged as a similar hurricane season, 1961, in my analog set has now seen the severe cold of 1961-62 show up to some extent. This look should last for a 1/4-1/3 of the month before changing. Nearly identical to the rolled forward blend of years following super-cold Plains centered Februaries I had in my forecast. Pretty happy with my forecast so far conceptually. Cold NW look idea has been fine so far. February will be the big test.

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February 1936/1978/1994/2018 was my match to last February. So interesting to see closeness to January 1937/1979/1995/2019 in 2022, even if it only lasts a week or two.

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7 hours ago, Powerball said:

Much of the region is currently under severe to extreme drought conditions, with no relief in sight:

 

Strangely enough, almost unwittingly drove past a small grass fire this afternoon (east Plano). First time I've seen one personally. The grass was definitely very dry, but no clue how it started- the median in the middle of the road was just covered in flames. Definitely hadn't been going on for long, but it looked like it was fixing to jump across the road, but again I have no real experience with fires (this road was between a church and a high school right as students were leaving, so it was busy). As soon as I grabbed my phone to dial 911, a firetruck rounded the bend into my FOV and took care of it.

I guess that's just a little experience I wanted to share to which the severe drought here is relevant.

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7 hours ago, TexMexWx said:

Strangely enough, almost unwittingly drove past a small grass fire this afternoon (east Plano). First time I've seen one personally. The grass was definitely very dry, but no clue how it started- the median in the middle of the road was just covered in flames. Definitely hadn't been going on for long, but it looked like it was fixing to jump across the road, but again I have no real experience with fires (this road was between a church and a high school right as students were leaving, so it was busy). As soon as I grabbed my phone to dial 911, a firetruck rounded the bend into my FOV and took care of it.

I guess that's just a little experience I wanted to share to which the severe drought here is relevant.

We'll see what happens the rest of this winter / early Spring, but it's certainly something you don't want to see headed into the warm season, because of the positive feedback loop with temperatures.

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A top 10 driest January on record seems to be a lock for DFW. Could even be a top 5 driest if tomorrow's system and the system on the 27th fails to produce measurable precipitation.

Will likely see an expansion of the extreme drought conditions for Thursday's drought monitor.

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