AUSTIN, Texas — As we look back on 2024, we’ve had some interesting weather phenomena take place, including the warmest fall on record and July’s well-above average rainfall. We’ll take a deeper dive into how the year went locally, but we’ll first analyze this December.
December Totals
For the final month of the year, we tracked well-above average warmth in Austin, and as a matter of fact, we’re currently tied with 1933 for the second-warmest December on record. With Tuesday’s cooler temperatures and Monday’s daily record-shattering heat, we imagine 2024 will drop to third on the list.
However, from a rainfall standpoint, there were no real extremes compared to historical figures, which was the case for the entire year, as well. We received exactly one and two-tenths inches at Camp Mabry, which is below our average of 2.72 inches, but it’s only good for a tie for the 38th-driest December on record at the reporting site.
2024 In Review
As for the entirety of 2024, we’re likely to finish with the warmest year on record for Camp Mabry at 72.8 degrees. This is pending the daily climate values for New Year’s Eve, which should be released by around 5 p.m. Tuesday. This is well ahead of the second-warmest year on record, which is 2023 at 72.3 degrees. Not only are each of the top five warmest years on record all since 2011, but each of the top nine warmest years on record have come since 2000.
As for this year’s precipitation, we’re likely to finish with 28 and 1/4 inches, which is below our average of 33.58 inches. The unusually wet July accounted for much of the total this year in Central Texas. This resulted in the 37th-driest year on record for Camp Mabry.
Summary
In short, we hadn’t had the historic precipitation year in 2024, but from a temperature standpoint, we’ve definitely made history with the second-straight year of the warmest year on record at Camp Mabry. It’ll be interesting to see how our 2025 weather shapes up, especially since we could use the rain in areas west of Interstate 35 for our Highland Lakes.