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Q. I often hear people say, "If you are tired of the Texas weather, just wait a minute. It will change." Is there some truth to this saying, and if so why does it seem that Texas has weather that changes so abruptly?
A. Texas weather is indeed quite variable, and depending on the time of year, can vary greatly even over the course of a few hours. It's not uncommon to bask in summer-like weather in the morning, only to get chilled to the bone with temperatures falling below freezing by nightfall. History tells us there's certainly no shortage of crazy weather in Texas, and much of it can be attributed to its unique location and geography.
The state of Texas is centered roughly 30 degrees north latitude, a location that is just north of the tropics and just south of the middle latitudes. This means Texas is often a battle ground between warm moist air surging north from the tropics, and cool dry air flowing south from the Plains. More importantly Texas is adjacent to unique land masses and bodies of water. Texas is just east of the parched Sonoran desert, while on the other side of the state it straddles one of the country's wettest regions -- in eastern Texas and western Louisiana.
What this means is a westerly wind can pull dry, desert air into Texas, causing temperatures to quickly soar into the 90s and 100s. And, this dry air is also an important factor in the development of severe thunderstorms. At the same time, strong storms can easily develop over humid east Texas, then migrate to the rest of the state.
And, don't forget that Texas is adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico -- a large body of warm water where heat and abundant moisture flow into our state. The Gulf is probably the biggest single factor in Texas' variable weather pattern. Hurricanes and tropical storms move into Texas from the Gulf, while a plentiful supply of moisture is also always nearby, ready to fuel the development of strong storms. Moreover, to the west is another warm body of water -- the Pacific Ocean. Clouds and moisture from the Pacific can flow north over Mexico, move into Texas and add more fuel to storms already in progress.
Finally, there is another unique factor about Texas. The state's geography is largely flat in the north and northwest, hilly in the middle and quite mountainous out west near Big Bend. The flat coastal plains of east Texas end abruptly over central Texas along the Balcones Escarpment. The steep rise in elevation along the Hill Country is a source for cloud, rain and thunderstorm development, while the western mountains create a boundary between dry air to the west and very moist air to the east. So, thunderstorms can develop along this boundary, then spread across much of the rest of the state.
To sum it up, the variable weather of Texas is a result of its unique location and unique geography. There's no other place like it, something Texans can be very proud of.
Do you have a weather-related question? Contact Bob Rose.
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