SE Texas getting warmer, wetter according to new climate data

Southeast Texas is getting warmer and wetter based on climate trends over the past several decades.

HOUSTON – Based on climate data spanning the past several decades, southeast Texas is feeling the effects of climate change by trending warmer and wetter.

The National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI), a division of NOAA, released new climate “normals” for both temperature and rainfall for climate sites across the entire United States. The new climate normals are based on data collected over the most recent three-decade period, from 1991 to 2020. Every decade climate normals are updated based on the most recent three decades:

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  • Old climate normals: Based on data from 1981 to 2010
  • New climate normals: Based on dta from 1991 to 2020
Southeast Texas is getting warmer and wetter, based on weather trends over the last decade.

The data show that the four climate reporting sites in southeast Texas, Intercontinental Airport, Hobby Airport, Galveston and College Station, are trending warmer and all but Galveston are trending wetter. Galveston is the only site to report less annual rainfall based on the most recent climate data.

The new climate normals issued by NCEI indicate that the region is, in fact, feeling the effects of climate change. It is in line with the recent publication of the new Atlantic tropical hurricane season normals, too, which show an increase in the average number of named tropical systems per year.

In recent years, the average number of named storms annually has been increasing.

More detailed data from each of the four climate reporting stations in southeast Texas is shown below:

Updated climate normals for Intercontinental Airport compared to old data (Data ourtesy of National Center for Environmental Information; Graphic courtesy of National Weather Service Houston/Galveston)
Updated climate normals for Hobby Airport compared to old data (Data ourtesy of National Center for Environmental Information; Graphic courtesy of National Weather Service Houston/Galveston)
Updated climate normals for Galveston compared to old data (Data ourtesy of National Center for Environmental Information; Graphic courtesy of National Weather Service Houston/Galveston)
Updated climate normals for College Station compared to old data (Data ourtesy of National Center for Environmental Information; Graphic courtesy of National Weather Service Houston/Galveston)

About the Author:

Meteorologist, runner, triathlete and proud Houstonian.