December closed out the year as our second wettest month at 8.82 inches raising our total for the year to above normal at 45.63 inches. Our normal annual rainfall is 43.81 inches. We had nine days with measurable rainfall with a two-day rain event total of 3.95 inches on December 26 and 27.
Temperature-wise, December low temperatures were warmer than the lows for November. Low temperature for December was 30 degrees while November lows were in the mid-twenties. High temperature for December was 73 degrees on December 22.
The year produced the hottest summer over the past seven years (since 2011). I recorded fifty triple-digit temperature days but missed a few due to being out of town some. We had 25 consecutive triple-digit temperature days from July 16 to August 9.
The year also produced the hottest and coldest temperatures I’ve recorded in the past 25 years as a weather volunteer with a high of 114 degrees on July 23 and a low of 8 degrees on January 17. The previous hottest and coldest temperatures were 110 degrees in September of 2000 and 10 degrees in February of 1996.
2018 RAINFALL BY MONTH IN INCHES
Month Rainfall Normal Departure
January 0.74 3.62 -2.88
February 4.58 3.36 +1.22
March 5.83 4.33 +1.50
April 1.18 3.30 -2.12
May 3.86 4.59 -0.73
June 0.78 4.03 -3.25
July 1.99 1.95 +0.04
August 1.13 2.43 -1.30
September 3.97 3.06 +0.91
October 11.33 5.30 +6.03
November 1.42 3.87 -2.45
December 8.82 3.97 +4.85
Totals 45.63 43.81 +1.82
LOOKING AHEAD TO JANUARY: January is normally our coldest month of the year. Expect possibly some wintry mix with freezing temperatures and frosty mornings during the month. Our normal rainfall for January is 3.62 inches.
The above rainfall and temperature data was recorded by Barney Leach, former volunteer co-op weather volunteer for the National Weather Service and former weather volunteer for Channel 8 in Dallas, Channel 10 in Waco, and radio station KNES in Fairfield.
