DALLAS/FORT WORTH CLIMATIC SUMMARY FOR 2002

THE YEAR 2002 MAY BE CHARACTERIZED AS WET AND MILD. THE YEARLY RAINFALL OF 44.42 INCHES IS THE 13TH WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD AND THE WETTEST YEAR SINCE 1997(45.01 INCHES). THE AVERAGE YEARLY TEMPERATURE WAS 65.3 DEGREES ... 0.2 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL ... AND THE COOLEST YEAR SINCE 1997(64.5 DEGREES).

JANUARY SET THE TONE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR WITH 4.90 INCHES OF RAIN ... THE 5TH WETTEST JANUARY ON RECORD. ALTHOUGH JANUARY WAS VERY WET WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES, JANUARY 3RD HAD A LOW OF 14 DEGREES. NOT ONLY WAS THIS THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE OF THE YEAR, BUT THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE SINCE FEBRUARY 4, 1996, WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 8 DEGREES.

MARCH HAD 7.39 INCHES OF RAIN ... THE WETTEST MARCH ON RECORD. THE LAST SPRING FREEZE WAS 30 DEGREES ON MARCH 22ND. THE AVERAGE DATE OF THE LAST SPRING FREEZE IS MARCH 14TH.

THE SPRING MONTHS OF MARCH ... APRIL ... MAY ... HAD A COMBINED TOTAL OF 18.47 INCHES OF RAIN ... THE 8TH WETTEST SPRING ON RECORD. SPRING TEMPERATURE WERE NORMAL FOR THAT TIME OF THE YEAR. THERE WAS ONE SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER EVENT DURING THE SPRING ... APRIL 16TH. ON THAT DAY 12 TORNADOES WERE REPORTED ACROSS TARRANT ... JOHNSON ... AND ELLIS COUNTIES. THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT TORNADO ... AN F3 ... OCCURRED IN EAST FORT WORTH AND DID AN ESTIMATED 250,000 DOLLARS DAMAGE. THERE WERE NO DEATHS OR INJURIES.

SEVERE WEATHER PUMMELED NORTH TEXAS AGAIN ON JUNE 15-16TH, DOING AN ESTIMATED 280,000 DOLLARS DAMAGE ... MOSTLY FROM STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURE OF THE YEAR WAS 100 DEGREES ON JULY 25TH, THE COOLEST SUMMER HIGH TEMPERATURE SINCE 100 DEGREES IN 1992. THE ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL IN THE WINTER AND SPRING ... COMBINED WITH TIMELY RAINFALL IN THE SUMMER ... RESULTED IN THE COOLEST SUMMER IN FIVE YEARS ... WITH SUMMER TEMPERATURES 0.7 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. JULY IN PARTICULAR WAS RELATIVELY COOL WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 83.2 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1.8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND THE COOLEST JULY SINCE 1990. THE ONLY 100 DEGREE DAY OF THE YEAR OCCURRED ON JULY 25TH ... TYING 9 OTHER YEARS FOR THE SECOND FEWEST 100 DEGREE DAYS IN A YEAR. IN CONTRAST THE SUMMERS OF 1998-2001 HAD AN AVERAGE OF 37 100 DEGREE DAYS!

FALL TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL WERE SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL. OCTOBER WITH 6.44 INCHES OF RAIN ... WAS THE SECOND WETTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR ... AND WAS SANDWICHED BY RELATIVELY DRY MONTHS IN SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER. THE FIRST FALL FREEZE WAS NOVEMBER 27TH. THE AVERAGE DATE OF THE FIRST FALL FREEZE IS NOVEMBER 17TH.

DECEMBER BEGAN THE WINTER OF 2002-2003 ON A WET ... MILD... STORMY NOTE. THE RAINFALL WAS 4.13 INCHES ... 1.56 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. TEMPERATURES FOR THE MONTH WERE 1.0 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRED ON THE 30TH ... WITH REPORTS OF TWO TORNADOES ... STRAIGHT LINE WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH ... AND HAIL UP TO GOLFBALL SIZE.