Climate of Dallas facts for kids

Dallas is a big city located in North Texas, right next to the Trinity River. It has a climate known as humid subtropical, which means it gets mild winters and hot summers. This type of weather is typical for the southern plains of the United States.

Dallas Weather Seasons

Hot Dallas Summers

Summers in Dallas are usually very hot. Sometimes they are dry, and other times they can be quite humid. It's common to have long periods of hot, dry weather. Heat waves can be very strong and last a long time, often happening during dry spells.

During summer, Dallas gets warm, dry air from the deserts to the west. It also gets hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Dallas was 113°F (45°C) during a big Heat Wave of 1980! In July and August, the average high temperature is around 96°F (36°C). The average low temperature at night is about 77°F (25°C). It's normal for temperatures to go above 100°F (38°C) several times each summer.

Pleasant Spring and Autumn

Spring and autumn bring warm and pleasant weather to Dallas. In spring, you can see beautiful wildflowers like the bluebonnet and Indian paintbrush blooming everywhere, especially along the highways.

Spring and fall are pleasant seasons in Dallas, as seen in this March photo from an Oak Cliff park.

Spring weather can change quickly. Cool air from Canada often crashes into warm, humid air from the Gulf Coast. When these air masses meet over North Texas, they can create strong thunderstorms. These storms often have amazing lightning shows, heavy rain, hail, and sometimes even tornadoes. Dallas is at the lower end of an area called "Tornado Alley" where tornadoes are more common.

Autumn, especially from late October to early December, also has nice weather. Unlike spring, big storms are rare during this time of year.

Mild Dallas Winters

Winter months, from December to March, are usually mild. It's not unusual for daytime temperatures to reach 76.7-85.9°F (24.8-29.9°C) during warm periods. However, a "Blue Norther" can suddenly bring much colder temperatures.

During cold spells, high temperatures can drop to the 30s°F (around 0°C). Low temperatures might be in the 10-20°F (around -12 to -7°C) range for a few days. Sometimes, warm, humid air from the south moves over cold, dry air. This can cause freezing rain, which makes roads and highways very slippery and can cause problems in the city.

Even January, the coldest month, is generally mild. The average high is 57.7°F (14.3°C) and the average low is 37.9°F (3.3°C). The coldest temperature ever recorded in Dallas was -3°F (-19°C) on January 18, 1930.

Weather Data

Snow in Dallas

Snowfall is quite rare in Dallas. On average, Dallas gets about 2.6 inches of snow each year. There are usually two or three days with hail per year. It has even snowed during Thanksgiving Day NFL football games at Texas Stadium in 1993 and 2007. February usually has the most snow, with about 0.6 inches falling. January typically has the most days with snow, about half a day on average. The most snow ever recorded was 12.5 inches in February 2010, which fell over two days at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Wild Dallas Weather

Tornadoes in Dallas

Since Dallas is at the lower end of "Tornado Alley", tornadoes can sometimes be a threat. Most tornadoes hit the city in April and May. A strong tornado, rated F3 on the Fujita scale (which measures tornado strength), hit Dallas on April 2, 1957.

A multiple-vortex tornado near Dallas, Texas on April 2, 1957.

On March 28, 2000, a tornado hit downtown Fort Worth, Dallas's neighbor. Another tornado in Arlington, Texas also caused damage that day. Four people sadly died in Fort Worth from the tornado. This was the worst tornado event in the Dallas area since 1957.

Another big tornado outbreak happened on April 3, 2012. It slightly damaged Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and caused problems at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field. It also heavily damaged an elementary school and destroyed trucks. On December 26, 2015, a rare winter tornado outbreak happened. An EF4 tornado (an even stronger type of tornado) hit near Garland and Rowlett, causing 10 deaths. On October 21, 2019, 10 tornadoes touched down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. One was an EF3 tornado that caused a lot of damage from North Dallas to Richardson.

Floods in Dallas

The Trinity River has had major floods in the past, like in 1844, 1866, 1871, and 1890. A huge flood in the spring of 1908 led to big changes in how the river is controlled. On May 26, 1908, the Trinity River became very deep, about 52.6 feet (16.0 meters), and very wide, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Five people died, 4,000 people lost their homes, and the damage cost around $2.5 million.

Dallas lost power for three days during that flood. All telephone and telegraph services were down, and trains stopped running. The only way to get to Oak Cliff was by boat. West Dallas was hit the hardest. Thousands of livestock drowned, and their bodies got stuck in trees, causing a terrible smell as the water went down.

The Trinity River flooding on July 8, 1908.

After this terrible flood, the city wanted to control the Trinity River and build a strong bridge between Oak Cliff and Dallas. A previous wooden bridge had been washed away in the 1908 flood. George B. Dealey, a newspaper publisher, suggested building a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) concrete bridge. In 1912, the Oak Cliff viaduct, now called the Houston Street Viaduct, opened. It was the longest concrete structure in the world at that time!

In May 2015, the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport received a record 16.96 inches of rain. This was part of a month with huge amounts of rain across Texas and Oklahoma. But strangely, a very hot and dry summer followed. Some parts of Texas became dry again by July 2015, even after all that rain.

El Niño and La Niña

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a climate pattern that mostly affects what winter and spring are like in Dallas.

• During the warm phase, called El Niño, winter and spring are usually colder and get more snow than normal.
• During the cold phase, called La Niña, winter and spring are usually warmer and get less snow.