You’ve likely already felt the effects of the cold front that blew through the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Wednesday, and we’re here to break even better news. While we won’t go as far as to say it’s cool out, these less-hot temperatures should be sticking around through the end of July.
According to Victor Murphy, climate services program manager for the National Weather Service Southern Region, the forecast for the next 10 days is “priceless,” with everything from much-needed rain to lows in the 70s.
“It looks like there’s an above-average chance of rain starting Sunday and lasting through Wednesday, which should keep temperatures down,” Murphy told the Observer. “[Through July 28], I don't think we’ll see anything above 95 degrees.”
You heard that right. No triple digits going into August.
Murphy said the “unusual” rain forecast should result in about an inch and a half of rain, and the scattered showers aren’t expected to become severe. The rain is much needed, especially in Tarrant and Collin counties, where the skies have been completely dry for over a month.
It’s fair to be a little skeptical of the projected cool temperatures. After all, we had a similar forecast just a few weeks ago that never came to fruition. That forecast was based on Hurricane Beryl’s projected track, which shifted dramatically in the hours leading up to landfall.
“Beryl ended up being much further east, and it tracked over Texarkana and we got, literally, zippo out of Beryl,” Murphy said.
How This Summer Compares to Last
So far, this summer’s temperatures have turned out better than Murphy thought they would. When we spoke to him in May, the conditions of a heat dome over Mexico were signaling a summer start “eerily similar” to last year’s blistering record. The 21 consecutive days over 100 degrees ranked last summer as the third-hottest in DFW’s history.
This year’s Mexico heat dome, however, isn’t bubbling north, which has helped keep the North Texas from melting. Nearly a third of the way through the summer season, 2024 isn’t cracking the top-15 hottest summers, Murphy said. The slightly above-average temperatures put 2024 at 16th-hottest overall, so far.
Another concern Murphy voiced back in May was the energy demand that warm temperatures could bring. On May 27, statewide energy demand peaked at 77,126 megawatts, which, two years ago, would have been a peak summertime demand. Demand hasn’t made it back to the 70,000s for the last few weeks, and ERCOT’s 6-day forecast shows the state is well supplied so that the power, and the AC, stay on.
