Choke Canyon Dam, Texas climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Choke Canyon Dam's normal year runs from 43°F January nights to 97°F August afternoons, with 26.5 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.3 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 21.4°C, January lows of 6°C, August highs of 36°C, 673 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChoke Canyon Dam
- Station IDUSC00411720
- Location28.47°N 98.25°W
- Elevation230 ft (70 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Choke Canyon Dam is 82°F and the normal low 59°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Choke Canyon Dam.
- Jan 64° 43°
- Feb 68° 47°
- Mar 75° 53°
- Apr 81° 59°
- May 88° 67°
- Jun 93° 73°
- Jul 95° 74°
- Aug 97° 74°
- Sep 91° 70°
- Oct 84° 62°
- Nov 73° 52°
- Dec 65° 45°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Choke Canyon Dam each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 97°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 43°F. The most precipitation falls in September (3.62 in), the least in February (1.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64°F | 43°F | 53.4°F | 1.51 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 30 min |
| February | 68°F | 47°F | 57.6°F | 1.41 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 11 h 10 min |
| March | 75°F | 53°F | 64.2°F | 2.38 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 h |
| April | 81°F | 59°F | 70.3°F | 2.01 | 6 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 88°F | 67°F | 77.6°F | 2.98 | 6 | 15 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| June | 93°F | 73°F | 82.9°F | 2.68 | 6 | 26 | <1 | 14 h |
| July | 95°F | 74°F | 84.5°F | 2.76 | 5 | 28 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| August | 97°F | 74°F | 85.3°F | 1.69 | 4 | 30 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| September | 91°F | 70°F | 80.3°F | 3.62 | 7 | 22 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 84°F | 62°F | 72.6°F | 2.33 | 5 | 10 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 73°F | 52°F | 62.6°F | 1.49 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 10 h 50 min |
| December | 65°F | 45°F | 54.9°F | 1.65 | 7 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 81°F | 60°F | 70.5°F | 26.51 | 74 | 138 | 9 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°C | 6°C | 11.9°C | 38 mm |
| February | 20°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 36 mm |
| March | 24°C | 12°C | 17.9°C | 60 mm |
| April | 27°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 51 mm |
| May | 31°C | 20°C | 25.3°C | 76 mm |
| June | 34°C | 23°C | 28.3°C | 68 mm |
| July | 35°C | 23°C | 29.2°C | 70 mm |
| August | 36°C | 23°C | 29.6°C | 43 mm |
| September | 33°C | 21°C | 26.8°C | 92 mm |
| October | 29°C | 16°C | 22.6°C | 59 mm |
| November | 23°C | 11°C | 17.0°C | 38 mm |
| December | 19°C | 7°C | 12.7°C | 42 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00411720; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
Which months are mildest at Choke Canyon Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, October, November and December. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (5).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00411720.
When is the last frost at Choke Canyon Dam?
In Choke Canyon Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 8 in half of years and after March 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 6 in half of years and before November 17 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- February 81 year in 10 after March 8; 9 in 10 after January 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 61 year in 10 before November 17; 9 in 10 before January 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 302 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 337 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 23 in half of springs and before December 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Choke Canyon Dam in zone 9a in ZIP code 78071, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 27°F (30 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00411720; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get at Choke Canyon Dam?
In a normal year in Choke Canyon Dam, 138 days a year reach 90°F (33 of them 100°F or more), 9 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 74 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 138a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 33a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 9a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 74a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1983) is 112°F, on September 6, 2000; the lowest is 11°F, on December 26, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2007, with 45.60 in; the snowiest season is 2004–05, with 6.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00411720; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00411720. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Choke Canyon Dam?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Choke Canyon Dam, 4.9 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (89%) and February the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 3.1 |
| February | 69% | 3.6 |
| March | 72% | 4.6 |
| April | 76% | 5.4 |
| May | 80% | 6.0 |
| June | 86% | 6.8 |
| July | 87% | 6.7 |
| August | 89% | 6.5 |
| September | 82% | 5.3 |
| October | 83% | 4.6 |
| November | 77% | 3.4 |
| December | 71% | 2.8 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How many heating and cooling degree days does Choke Canyon Dam record?
A normal year at Choke Canyon Dam brings 1,275 heating degree days, 76% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,317 cooling degree days, 3.7 times the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 7,702 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 373 | 16 |
| February | 238 | 31 |
| March | 118 | 92 |
| April | 29 | 188 |
| May | 2 | 391 |
| June | 0 | 537 |
| July | 0 | 606 |
| August | 0 | 631 |
| September | 1 | 461 |
| October | 25 | 261 |
| November | 153 | 81 |
| December | 336 | 23 |
| Year (annual) | 1,275 | 3,317 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00411720. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Have recent years at Choke Canyon Dam been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 75.1°F, 4.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 70.5°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 70.7°F | +0.2°F | 29.37 |
| 2022 | 70.8°F | +0.3°F | 17.73 |
| 2023 | 73.1°F | +2.6°F | 22.63 |
| 2024 | 75.0°F | +4.5°F | 23.27 |
| 2025 | 75.1°F | +4.6°F | 15.39 |
Over 30 complete years from 1990 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.0°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00411720; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Choke Canyon Dam's climate compare?
Choke Canyon Dam is warmer than 263 of the 321 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 125. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 70.5°F is warmer than 96%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Choke Canyon Dam is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Choke Canyon Dam share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- George West, TX2,227 people · 13 mi SE
- Three Rivers, TX1,803 people · 5 mi E
- Pawnee, TX69 people · 19 mi NE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Choke Canyon Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Choke Canyon Dam?
January, with a normal high of 64°F and a normal low of 43°F. The warmest is August (97°F by day, 74°F at night).
Does it snow at Choke Canyon Dam?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.3 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month at Choke Canyon Dam?
September, with 3.62 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Choke Canyon Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Choke Canyon Dam in zone 9a in ZIP code 78071, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 27°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come at Choke Canyon Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 8; in one year in ten it comes after March 8. Waiting until March 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Calliham, TX6 miles from this station, 71.8°F a year
- Tilden, TX17 miles from this station, 71.8°F a year
- Cross, TX21 miles from this station, 70.8°F a year
- Beeville, TX33 miles from this station, 70.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made