Texas Climate
Top 5 Cities: Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso
This month in numbers
Texas experienced its 6th warmest April on record, with an average temperature of 21°C, an anomaly of +2.5°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. Even more notably, the period from February to April 2026 was the warmest on record for Texas, with an average temperature of 18.31°C, an anomaly of +4.5°C. Maximum temperatures for this three-month period also ranked 1st on record, at 25.87°C, an anomaly of +4.9°C. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April for land temperatures, and the February–April period was also the 2nd warmest on record for global land temperatures.
What changed
The exceptionally warm February–April period for Texas stands in stark contrast to the national picture, though the entire US has seen above-average temperatures. Texas's 3-month temperature anomaly of +4.53°C ranked 8th warmest among all 234 regions tracked, with nine of the top ten warmest regions being US states, indicating a striking concentration of warmth across the central and southern United States. This follows a winter (December 2025–February 2026) that was also among the warmest and driest on record for several parts of the state.
What’s driving change?
The persistent warmth in Texas has been largely influenced by a strong La Niña phase that dominated the recent winter, typically leading to warmer and drier conditions for the southern US. However, the current ENSO state is Neutral, with a strong forecast for El Niño development by late summer and into autumn, with probabilities reaching 98% by August–October. This transition could bring a shift towards a wetter and cooler pattern for Texas in the coming winter months, as El Niño typically brings a more active storm track and increased precipitation to the region.
Texas also experienced significant severe weather in April, with a series of severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds, flash flooding, and tornadoes affecting parts of North and Central Texas for six consecutive days from April 24 to April 29, 2026. This outbreak resulted in two fatalities and at least 11 injuries, with 10 confirmed tornadoes, including an EF-3 tornado in Mineral Wells. This was the most damaging severe storm event in the NWS Fort Worth area since June 2025. For more details on extreme weather events, visit Extreme Weather tracker.
Looking ahead
The strong forecast for an El Niño event developing by late summer and persisting into winter suggests a potential shift towards cooler and wetter conditions for Texas in the coming months.
Sources:
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Texas
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Texas changing?
Texas is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Texas come from?
Climate data for Texas comes from NOAA Climate at a Glance (temperature and precipitation), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Texas climate data cover?
The Texas climate profile covers Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and surrounding areas. Wind energy giant, grid stress and extreme heat
How often is the Texas climate update refreshed?
The Texas climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.