10/13/2024 - 10/19/2024

Climate in the News:

Last week NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released the Seasonal Drought Outlook for this winter. The outlook is very reflective of forecasted La Niña conditions, as a La Niña winter generally results in warmer and drier conditions for the Southeastern United States. Such conditions are likely to have a large impact on the agriculture business in the South. Many areas in Southeast Texas and Louisiana are already experiencing flash drought conditions. Half of the Texas cotton crop was already rated poor to very poor at the beginning of this month.

Weather Synopsis:

A strong cold front swept through the Region last week, finally giving Southern residents the first taste of fall-like temperatures. Morning lows on Monday reached as low as the high forties in Oklahoma. 

Temperature: 

Overall, fall days in October are comfortable across most of the region. Although, weekly cold fronts are quite common, bringing with them colder air masses from the North.

As mentioned above, last week was the first true fall-like temperatures for the Southern Region this year. The cold front at the beginning of the week brought crisp and dry temperatures that stuck around for much of the week. As a result, temperatures were well below normal in the eastern portion of the Region, with Texas seeing temperatures closer to normal. Weekly average temperatures were as much as ten degrees below normal in Central Tennessee. Weekly average temperatures were highest in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, around 78 degrees, and coolest in the Smokey Mountains of eastern Tennessee at 47 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Precipitation:

The climate for the majority of the region is humid and subtropical, with rainfall common at any point of the year. Frequently, during the fall months, cold fronts bring showers and thunderstorms. The boundary between the cold and warm air masses serves as a trigger mechanism for storms.

Minimial rainfall was observed yet again last week in the Southern Region. Many areas have not seen any substantial precipitation since the last week of September. Although, the far western portions of the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles did see some significant showers and thunderstorms this past weekend as storms from New Mexico moved into the area. The coastal region of Far South Texas picked up a few inches of rain last week as well as tropical and sea-breeze thunderstorms, bringing the area some relief.