August 2011
Report and Summary
Tyler, Texas
August 2011
by Robert K. Peters, Ph.D.
National Weather Service Cooperating Observer
The very hot Summer of 2011 persisted through August, with numerous heat records set.
Among these were:
- a) most number of days during a Summer with temperatures at or above 100 deg.; this
- stood at 54
- at month's end, replacing the previous record of 51 set in 1954;
- b) the greatest number of temperatures at or above 100 during a single month; this
- was 28 in August
- 2011, and replaces the 26 from July 1998.
- C) the hottest Summer ever, with an average temperature of -.-- deg., replacing 1998
- with 87.0 deg.;
- d) the hottest month ever with -.-- deg., replacing July 1998 when the average was
- 89.7 deg; and
- e) the hottest August ever, replacing 1951 with its 88.0.
The combination of a strong and stubborn upper air high pressure ridge with the very dry soils and vegetation was responsible for the oppressive heat. Compared with August 2010 which was also a very warm month August 2011 was 4.3 deg. Warmer, and 0.24 inch drier.
Year-to-date rainfall through August 31 was 12.69 inches greater in 2010 than in 2011.
The thirty-day outlook for August 2011 had called for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.
Upper air high pressure dominated the weather for just about the entire month. It was centered over the area through the 5th, when a slow westward migration began. There was an eastward re-building between the 8th and 10th, followed by another westward retrogression. The result was hot temperatures, with numerous records set between the 2nd and 7th.
With northwesterly winds aloft, scattered showers moved into the northern counties on the afternoon of the 11th.
Eastward re-building commenced on the 12th, holding through the 20th. This again resulted in numerous temperature records from the very hot temperatures. The 108-degree high on the 19th is the highest temperature in Tyler since July 25, 1954.
The ridge shifted back westward beginning with the afternoon of the 19th. This permitted isolated late-day showers for the next several afternoons, with temperatures lowering slightly on the 21st.
For the remainder of the month, the ridge was centered west of the region on most days. This did two things: first, there were disturbances in the northwest flow aloft which brought isolated showers on a few afternoons; and second, the surface air mass was quite dry, permitting daytime highs to go back well above the century mark on most afternoons.
- KEY TO SYMBOLS:
- A = HAIL
- B = BLOWING
- D = DUST
- F = FOG
- H = HAZE
- IP = SLEET
- K = SMOKE
- L = DRIZZLE
- R = RAIN
- S = SNOW
- T = THUNDERSTORM
- Z = GREENWICH MEAN TIME
- ZL = FREEZING DRIZZLE
- ZR = FREEZING RAIN
- - = LIGHT
- + = HEAVY
R FOLLOWING A TEMPERATURE OR PRECIPITATION VALUE = RECORD
The reporting period for temperatures, precipitation, and phenomenon on each day is for the twenty-four hours ending at midnight hours GMT--6 p.m. CST and 7 p.m. CDT. All times are given using the twenty-four hour clock, and are expressed in Greenwich Mean Time.
Observations are from NWS Station 41/9207/4 in Tyler, Texas. The term "normal" refers to averages from the standard climatic period 1971-2000.
AUGUST 2011 DY MX MN OBS PCPN REMARKS- DY MX MN OBS PCPN REMARKS 01 104 80 100 02 107R 81R 104 03 107R 83R 105 04 107R 82R 104 05 106R 80 103 06 105R 79 103 07 104R 80 99 08 103 80 101 09 104 79 10 103 80 101 11 100 80 95 12 103 80R 99 13 95 80R 88 0.03 PCPN 1400-1500 14 103 76 99 15 105 76 101 16 105 79 101 17 105R 81R 101 18 106 82R 103 19 108 77 80 0.51 T, PCPN 2200-2300 MORNING LOW 80 20 106R 76 100 21 98 79 96 22 104 79 94 23 105 79 99 24 104R 73 76 0.29 T, PCPN 0000-0200, 2200-2300 MIN 0000-1200 78 25 100 72 96 0.02 PCPN 1400-1500 26 103R 76 98 27 102 78R 98 28 104R 76 99 29 92 78 88 30 104R 75 96 31 102 79 97
AUGUST 2011, RECORDS AND SUMMARY:
- AUGUST 2011 IS THE FIFTH WARMEST MONTH, WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD, REPLACES AUGUST 1951 WITH 88.0 DEG.; WARMEST SUMMER ON RECORD, REPLACES 1998 WITH 87.0 DEG.; 2ND RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 81, PREVIOUS RECORD 80 IN 1924; 2ND EQUALED RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 107, FIRST SET IN 1998; 3RD RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 83, PREVIOUS RECORD 80 IN 1924 AND 1998; HIGHEST MINIMUM RECORDED IN AUGUST, PREVIOUS RECORD 82 ON AUGUST 25, 1924; 3RD RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 107, PREVIOUS RECORD 106 IN 1998; 4TH RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 82, PREVIOUS RECORD 79 IN 1910, 1924, 1930, 1951, AND 1980; 4TH RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 107, PREVIOUS RECORD 105 IN 1964; 5TH RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 106, PREVIOUS RECORD 105 IN 1964 6TH RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 105, EQUALED 105 IN 1944; 7TH RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 104, EQUALLED 104 IN 1921, 1947, AND 1956; 12TH EQUALED RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 80, FIRST SET IN 1924; 13TH EQUALED RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 80, FIRST SET IN 1924; 17TH RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 81, PREVIOUS RECORD 79 IN 1924; 17TH EQUALED RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 105, FIRST SET IN 1951 AND 1956; 18TH RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 82, PREVIOUS RECORD 80 IN 1900; 19TH HIGH TEMPERATURE 108, NO RECORD BUT HIGHEST TEMPERATURE SINCE JULY 25, 1954; 20TH, EQUALED RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 106, FIRST SET IN 1947; 24TH RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 104, PREVIOUS RECORD 102 IN 1899, 1910, AND 1921; 26TH EQUALED RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 103, PREVIOUSLY SET IN 1911 AND 1999; 27TH EQUALED RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 78, FIRST SET IN 1910, 1924, AND 1982; 28TH EQUALED RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 104, FIRST SET IN 1951; 30TH RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM 104, REPLACES 103 FROM 1954; 31ST RECORD HIGH MINIMUM 79, REPLACES 77 IN 1983, 1989, 1990, AND 1993; HIGHEST TEMPERATURE 108 ON THE 21ST, LOWEST TEMPERATURE 72 ON THE 25TH, AVERAGE MAXIMUM 103.4 F., AVERAGE MINIMUM 78.5 F., AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 91.0 F., 8.5 DEG. Warmer THAN NORMAL. 0 HEATING DEGREE DAYS, 0 PERCENT OF NORMAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS. 812 COOLING DEGREE DAYS, 150.1 PERCENT OF NORMAL COOLING DEGREE-DAYS; TOTAL PRECIPITATION 0.85 IN., 1.81 IN. LESS THAN MONTHLY NORMAL. 32.0 PERCENT OF NORMAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION. YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION 16.40 IN., 13.41 IN. LESS THAN NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION, 55.0 PERCENT OF NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION; 2 DAYS ON WHICH THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED; 4 DAYS ON WHICH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION OCCURRED; 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED TO BETWEEN 1/2 AND 6 MILES BY FOG, SMOKE, OR HAZE; 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED TO 1/4 MILE OR LESS BY FOG; 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED BY DUST OR BLOWING DUST; 0 DAYS ON WHICH FROZEN PRECIPITATION WAS OBSERVED; 0 IN. TOTAL SNOWFALL. 31 DAYS ON WHICH THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR EXCEEDED 90 DEG.; 28 DAYS ON WHICH THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR EXCEEDED 100 DEG.; 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE TEMPERATURE FAILED TO RISE ABOVE 32 DEG. 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR FELL BELOW 32 DEG. 0 SEASON-TO-DATE HEATING DEGREE DAYS, PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL SEASON-TO-DATE HEATING DEGREE DAYS: 0; 2599 YEAR-TO-DATE COOLING DEGREE DAYS. PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE COOLING DEGREE DAYS: 138.0. PRECIPITATION DURING THE PREVIOUS TWELVE MONTHS 23.21 IN., TWELVE-MONTH PRECIPITATION PERCENTAGE 49.8.