NWS Lubbock, TX 2014 Year End Summary

The map below highlights some of the more significant weather events that occurred across the area in 2014. The year was a relatively quiet one for severe weather and only two weak tornados were confirmed in our service area. The most widespread severe weather event occurred on June 7th. Memorial Day weekend brought the most rain some areas across the South Plains had seen in quite some time. Despite the shortage of severe weather associated with thunderstorms, the area saw numerous dust storms, a few snow storms, and a tropical storm which drenched the region with heavy rain.

The 2014 precipitation totals were a mixed bag. The map above shows the yearly totals that we’ve collected across the area. In an average year, precipitation ranges from about 16 inches near the New Mexico border to about 22 inches the Low Rolling Plains. In 2014, many locations on the Caprock welcomed above average rainfall of about 100 to 130 percent of the long-term average. However, surrounding this region, precipitation fell short once again at many observing stations. Much of the Rolling Plains were drier than average, along with portions of our counties that border New Mexico. The 2014 extremes for the Lubbock NWS area of responsibility ranged from 13.15 inches at the West Texas Mesonet site near Friona, to 28.51 inches in Olton.

The map below shows the 2014 precipitation as a percent of the long-term average, or "normal". This image shows that much of the region east of the Caprock received somewhat below normal precipitation, in contrast to areas on the Caprock.

2014 started dry, with very little rain falling through the first four months of the year. The dry conditions further exacerbated the ongoing drought that has been afflicting the region since 2011. The dry weather persisted into the middle of May, when showers and thunderstorms typically become more prevalent over West Texas. This catapulted most of the Texas Panhandle, South Plains, and Rolling Plains into exceptional drought. Just when things were looking dire, a weak cold front, slow moving upper level storm system and plentiful amounts of moisture conspired to bring several rounds of much needed rain to the region over the extended Memorial Day weekend. Many locations recorded 2-4+ inches of rain over a 6 day stretch in late May, and the drought began to ease, if ever so slightly.   More regular rains through the summer and fall helped the drought to further relax its grip, particularly up on the Caprock. By the end of 2014, most locations on the Caprock had no drought or were in the abnormally dry category of the drought monitor, a vast improvement from spring. This was thanks to above average yearly rainfall and a few big rains during the fall months. Off the Caprock, yearly rainfall totals were above the previous three years, but still fell a few inches short of average in many locations, so drought improvements were not as significant. Still, all but a portion of Cottle County did see improvements from the exceptional drought that was in place earlier in the year.

2014 will go down in the books as the 40th warmest and 25th wettest on record (records began in 1911). Overall, the year appeared rather cool and wet in comparison to the last few years, which included the two hottest years on record (2011 and 2012) and the driest (2011), 9th driest (2012) and 15th driest (2013) years on record. In fact, Lubbock tallied 22.56 inches, which isn’t much under the previous three-year total of 29.90 inches. Even with this relatively wet year, the last four years (2011-2014) are still the driest consecutive four-year stretch in the record books, about an inch and a half drier than the previous record of 1953-1956.

The year didn’t start on the wet side though, with only 0.90 inches falling over the course of the first four months. The dry beginning of the year further intensified the drought with exceptional drought enveloping most of the region by the end of April. The trends were not good into the first half of May, with moisture very difficult to come by. Thankfully, this changed late in the month as several rounds of showers and thunderstorms brought much needed rain to the South Plains region over the Memorial Day weekend. Many spots recorded 2-4 inches, with localized 6+ inch totals from May 21st through the 26th. This wet period helped put a dent in the ongoing drought and fell at a critical time for farmers. The rainfall then continued thereafter at a more regular interval, helping the annual rainfall keep pace with the 30-year normal. A very wet late September and early November then ensured the year would end with above average rainfall for the first time since 2010.

The hottest temperature of 2014 was 104 degrees, recorded on September 4th. Lubbock reached or exceeded the 100 degree mark on 11 occasions, which was near the long-term average of 10 days. One the other side of the pendulum, the coldest temperature of the year was 6 degrees, experienced on 6th of January. Five record highs were tied or set in 2014: 87 degrees on February 15th; 100 degrees on August 31st; 104 degrees on September 1st; 91 degrees on October 26th; and 80 degrees on November 29th. Three record lows were also tied or set in 2014: 6 degrees on January 28th; 25 degrees on April 15th; and 19 degrees on November 12th.

The top portion of the below graph shows the daily high and low temperature distribution for 2014 at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport. A large portion of the year saw temperature near to above average, with a few pockets of below average temperatures. The hottest temperatures, as is typical, occurred during May, June, July and August.