Texas

===Climate===
{{main|Climate of Texas}}
[[File:Texas Köppen.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|left|Köppen climate types in Texas]]
The large size of Texas and its location at the intersection of multiple [[Köppen climate classification|climate zones]] gives the state highly variable weather. The [[Texas Panhandle|Panhandle]] of the state has colder winters than North Texas, while the Gulf Coast has mild winters. Texas has wide variations in precipitation patterns. El Paso, on the western end of the state, averages {{convert|8.7|in|mm}} of annual rainfall,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=7227&refer=&cityname=El-Paso-Texas-United-States-of-America |title=El Paso, Texas Travel Weather Averages |publisher=Weatherbase |access-date=April 18, 2013}}</ref> while parts of southeast Texas average as much as {{convert|64|in|mm}} per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=86614&refer=&cityname=Mauriceville-Texas-United-States-of-America |title=Mauriceville, Texas Travel Weather Averages |publisher=Weatherbase |access-date=April 18, 2013}}</ref> Dallas in the North Central region averages a more moderate {{convert|37|in|mm}} per year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Weather averages Dallas-DFW Intl Arpt, Texas|url=https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/dallas-dfw-intl-arpt/texas/united-states/ustx0328|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=usclimatedata.com}}</ref>

Snow falls multiple times each winter in the Panhandle and mountainous areas of West Texas, once or twice a year in North Texas, and once every few years in Central and East Texas. Snow falls south of San Antonio or on the coast only in rare circumstances. Of note is the [[2004 Christmas Eve snowstorm]], when {{convert|6|in|mm}} of snow fell as far south as [[Kingsville, Texas|Kingsville]], where the average high temperature in December is 65&nbsp;°F.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KNQI/2008/12/24/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA |title=History: Weather Underground |website=Wunderground.com |date=December 24, 2008 |access-date=April 11, 2010}}</ref>

Night-time summer temperatures range from the upper 50s °F (14&nbsp;°C) in the West Texas mountains to {{convert|80|°F|°C|0}} in Galveston.<ref name="weather2">{{cite web |title=Monthly Averages for Marfa, Texas |publisher=The Weather Channel |url=https://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USTX0830?from=search |access-date=October 15, 2008}}</ref><ref name="weather3">{{cite web |title=Monthly Averages for Galveston, Texas |publisher=The Weather Channel |url=https://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USTX0499?from=search |access-date=October 15, 2008}}</ref>

The table below consists of averages for August (generally the warmest month) and January (generally the coldest) in selected cities in various regions of the state.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;"
|+Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Texas<ref name="Texas climate averages">{{cite web |url=https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=US&s=TX&statename=Texas-United-States-of-America |title=Texas climate averages |publisher=Weatherbase |access-date=November 10, 2015}}</ref>
|-
!Location
!August (°F)
!August (°C)
!January (°F)
!January (°C)
|-
|[[Houston]]|| 94/75 || 34/24 || 63/54 || 17/12
|-
|[[San Antonio]]|| 96/74 || 35/23 || 63/40 || 17/5
|-
|[[Dallas]]|| 96/77 || 36/25 || 57/37 || 16/3
|-
|[[Austin, Texas|Austin]]|| 97/74 || 36/23 || 61/45 || 16/5
|-
|[[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]]|| 92/67 || 33/21 || 57/32 || 14/0
|-
|[[Laredo, Texas|Laredo]]|| 100/77 || 37/25 || 67/46 || 19/7
|-
|[[Amarillo, Texas|Amarillo]]|| 89/64 || 32/18 || 50/23 || 10/−4
|-
|[[Brownsville, Texas|Brownsville]]|| 94/76 || 34/24 || 70/51 || 21/11
|}

====Storms====
{{see also|List of Texas hurricanes}}
[[Thunderstorm]]s strike Texas often, especially the eastern and northern portions of the state. [[Tornado Alley]] covers the northern section of Texas. The state experiences the most [[tornado]]es in the United States, an average of 139 a year. These strike most frequently in North Texas and the Panhandle.<ref name="Annual average number of tornadoes">[https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif NOOA.gov] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423020857/https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif |date=April 23, 2017}} National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on October 24, 2006.</ref> Tornadoes in Texas generally occur in April, May, and June.<ref name="TexasWeather">{{cite Handbook of Texas|id=yzw01|title=Weather |first=George W. |last=Bomar |date=June 15, 2010}}</ref>

Some of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Texas. A hurricane in 1875 killed about 400 people in [[Indianola, Texas|Indianola]], followed by [[1886 Indianola hurricane|another hurricane]] in 1886 that destroyed the town. These events allowed [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]] to take over as the chief port city. The [[1900 Galveston hurricane]] subsequently devastated that city, killing about 8,000 people or possibly as many as 12,000 in the deadliest [[natural disaster]] in U.S. history.<ref name="deadhurr">{{cite web |last1=Blake |first1=Eric S. |last2=Rappaport |first2=Edward N. |last3=Landsea |first3=Christopher W. |title=The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 to 2006 |publisher=National Weather Service: National Hurricane Center |date=April 15, 2007 |url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-TPC-5.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217022106/https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-TPC-5.pdf |archive-date= Dec 17, 2023 }}</ref> In 2017, [[Hurricane Harvey]] made landfall in [[Rockport, Texas|Rockport]] as a Category&nbsp;4 Hurricane, causing significant damage there. Its unprecedented amounts of rain over the [[Greater Houston]] area resulted in widespread and catastrophic flooding that inundated hundreds of thousands of homes. Harvey ultimately became the costliest hurricane worldwide, causing an estimated $198.6&nbsp;billion in damage, surpassing the cost of [[Hurricane Katrina]].<ref name="198billion">{{cite report|first1=Michael |last1=Hicks |first2=Mark |last2=Burton|publisher=Ball State University|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=November 1, 2017|title=Hurricane Harvey: Preliminary Estimates of Commercial and Public Sector Damages on the Houston Metropolitan Area|url=https://projects.cberdata.org/reports/HurricaneHarvey2017.pdf}}</ref>

Other devastating Texas hurricanes include the [[1915 Galveston hurricane]], [[Hurricane Audrey]] in 1957, [[Hurricane Carla]] in 1961, [[Hurricane Beulah]] in 1967, [[Hurricane Alicia]] in 1983, [[Hurricane Rita]] in 2005, and [[Hurricane Ike]] in 2008. [[Tropical cyclone|Tropical storms]] have also caused their share of damage: [[Tropical Storm Allison (1989)|Allison]] in 1989 and again [[Tropical Storm Allison|during 2001]], [[Tropical Storm Claudette (1979)|Claudette]] in 1979, and [[Tropical Storm Imelda|Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019.]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Levin|first=Matt|date=June 15, 2015|title=Here's how tropical storms have impacted Texas in the past 35 years|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Here-s-how-tropical-storms-have-impacted-Texas-in-6328173.php|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Chron|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=June 4, 2020|title=Tropical Storm Allison blew through Houston 19 years ago|url=https://abc13.com/timely-tropical-storm-allison-houston-hurricane/2075243|access-date=December 28, 2020|newspaper=Abc13 Houston}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Levin|first=Matt|date=May 29, 2015|title=Tropical Storm Claudette: The 'Mother Lode' of floods|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-weather/article/Remembering-Tropical-Storm-Claudette-The-Mother-6295177.php|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Chron|language=en-US}}</ref>

There is no substantial physical barrier between Texas and the [[Polar regions of Earth|polar region]]. Although it is unusual, it is possible for arctic or polar [[air mass]]es to penetrate Texas,<ref>{{cite news|title=Casualty|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47088684|date=February 1, 2019|access-date=February 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Polar vortex: What is it and how does it happen? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-47065461/polar-vortex-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-happen |date=January 30, 2019|website=[[BBC News]] video|access-date=January 31, 2019}}</ref> as occurred during the [[February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm]].<ref name="UI">{{cite web |author1=Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |title=Continental Polar Air Masses |url=http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/af/arms/artc.rxml |access-date=February 21, 2021}}</ref><ref name="WP021621">{{cite news |author1=Tom Niziol |title=The lethal atmospheric setup behind a deadly Arctic outbreak: How ingredients came together for an onslaught of bone-chilling temperatures and a barrage of storms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/02/16/setup-arctic-outbreak-niziol/ |access-date=February 21, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 16, 2021}}</ref> Usually, prevailing winds in North America will push polar air masses to the southeast before they reach Texas. Because such intrusions are rare, and, perhaps, unexpected, they may result in crises such as the [[2021 Texas power crisis]].