National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
400 AM CST THU JAN 1 2009

...2008 YEAR END CLIMATE ROUNDUP FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS...

RECORD DATES FOR EACH LOCATION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

BROWNSVILLE RECORDS BEGAN 1878...
HARLINGEN RECORDS BEGAN 1911...
MCALLEN RECORDS BEGAN 1941...

BROWNSVILLE...

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN BROWNSVILLE FOR 2008 WAS 74.67
DEGREES...1.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS IS THE 22ND WARMEST YEAR ON
RECORD FOR BROWNSVILLE. THE CITY EXPERIENCED 9 ABOVE AVERAGE MONTHS
AND 3 BELOW AVERAGE MONTHS...RECORDED FOUR LOW TEMPERATURES BELOW 40
DEGREES...AND 105 DAYS WHEN THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 90 DEGREES. THIS
IS 19 LESS THAN THE YEARLY AVERAGE OF 124 DAYS.

BROWNSVILLE AIRPORT RECEIVED 38.37 INCHES OF RAIN IN 2008...10.82
INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS IS THE 10TH WETTEST YEAR ON STATION...AND
THE WETTEST YEAR SINCE 1984. BROWNSVILLE RECORDED 4 ABOVE AVERAGE
MONTHS AND 8 BELOW AVERAGE MONTHS. 13.24 INCHES OF RAIN WAS RECORDED
IN JULY ALONE...WHICH WAS THE 16TH WETTEST SINGLE MONTH RECORDED.
THIS WAS MAINLY BROUGHT ABOUT BY HURRICANE DOLLY...WHICH BROUGHT
6.68 INCHES IN ONE DAY.

HARLINGEN...

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN HARLINGEN FOR 2008 WAS 74.58
DEGREES...1.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS IS THE 17TH WARMEST YEAR ON
RECORD FOR HARLINGEN. THE CITY RECORDED 8 ABOVE AVERAGE MONTHS AND 4
BELOW AVERAGE MONTHS...RECORDED 10 LOW TEMPERATURES BELOW 40
DEGREES...AND 145 DAYS WHEN THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 90 DEGREES. THIS
IS 11 MORE THAN THE YEARLY AVERAGE OF 134 DAYS.

HARLINGEN AIRPORT RECEIVED 34.80 INCHES OF RAIN IN 2008...6.67
INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS IS THE 11TH WETTEST YEAR IN HARLINGEN.
HARLINGEN RECORDED 5 ABOVE AVERAGE MONTHS AND 7 BELOW AVERAGE
MONTHS. 13.22 INCHES OF RAIN WAS RECORDED IN JULY ALONE...WHICH WAS
THE 5TH WETTEST SINGLE MONTH RECORDED. THIS WAS MAINLY BROUGHT ABOUT
BY HURRICANE DOLLY...WHICH BROUGHT AN ESTIMATED 6.80 INCHES OF RAIN IN ONE DAY.

NOTE THAT RAINFALL MEASUREMENTS FROM EASTERN CAMERON COUNTY NORTHWEST THROUGH 
HARLINGEN...SANTA ROSA...AND INTO EXTREME EASTERN HIDALGO COUNTY...AS WELL AS IN
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL WILLACY COUNTY...EXTENDING FROM SEBASTIAN TO RAYMONDVILLE...WERE
LIKELY UNDERESTIMATED DUE TO HURRICANE FORCE WIND GUSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DOLLY.

MCALLEN...

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN MCALLEN FOR 2008 WAS 75.85 DEGREES...1.0
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS IS THE 9TH WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD FOR
MCALLEN. THE CITY RECORDED 8 ABOVE AVERAGE MONTHS AND 4 BELOW
AVERAGE MONTHS...RECORDED 9 LOW TEMPERATURES BELOW 40 DEGREES...AND
161 DAYS WHEN THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 90 DEGREES. THIS IS 5 MORE
THAN THE YEARLY AVERAGE OF 156 DAYS. MCALLEN ALSO NOTED 13 DAYS WHEN
THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 100 DEGREES. THIS IS 8 LESS THAN THE YEARLY
AVERAGE OF 21 DAYS.  THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 103 DEGREES OR HIGHER 3
TIMES...PUTTING THOSE DAYS IN THE 15 WARMEST DAYS EVER RECORDED IN
MCALLEN.

MCALLEN AIRPORT RECEIVED 28.16 INCHES OF RAIN IN 2008...5.20 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL. THIS IS THE 11TH WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD. MCALLEN
RECORDED 3 ABOVE AVERAGE MONTHS AND 9 BELOW AVERAGE MONTHS. 12.75
INCHES OF RAIN WAS RECORDED IN JULY ALONE...WHICH WAS THE 2ND
WETTEST SINGLE MONTH ON RECORD.  THIS WAS BEHIND ONLY HURRICANE
BEULAH IN SEPTEMBER 1967. MOST OF THIS WAS BROUGHT BY HURRICANE
DOLLY...WHICH BROUGHT 7.78 INCHES OF RAIN IN ONE DAY. THIS WAS ALSO
THE SECOND WETTEST SINGLE DAY ON RECORD...BEHIND ONLY 7.81 INCHES IN
SEPTEMBER 1980 FROM HURRICANE ALLEN. REMOVING THE 2 WETTEST DAYS
WOULD BRING THE YEARLY TOTAL DOWN TO 15.00 INCHES...WHICH WOULD
EQUATE TO THE 10TH DRIEST YEAR ON RECORD.