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8 Differences Between Winter and Summer in Texas

Texas
by Turner Wright Apr 25, 2017

1. Winter is unpredictable, summer not so much.

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Let’s get this out in the open. If you don’t like the weather – or even the season – in Texas, just wait an hour. I’ve personally witnessed a Texas day with freezing cold mornings, raining midday, followed by a pleasant warm evening. These types of days only happen outside of June through August, when the seasons are in flux and anything can happen. In the summer, though, it’s consistently over 100 degrees no matter where you are in the state; the only difference in location is the humidity.

2. School cancellations.

Texas heat is often a very serious matter. Kids can pass out after enough time in the sun. In contrast, most winters see a thin layer of frost in the morning, while snowstorms and icy roads are rare. While Texas’ weather may be extreme on the hot end, guess which season causes more students to miss school? We’ll shut down the school, the street, and even the city if more than half an inch of ice comes down, but children can handle a little sweat.

3. Texans are only MacGyver during the summer.

If you give Texans anything in the summertime, they’ll find a way to beat the heat, or at least entertain themselves to distract from the scorching sun. You only have an inner tube and a six pack? We invent floating the river, and turn it into a tourist attraction. Want to make a pie without an oven? Slap some foil onto some cardboard and watch that baby cook in a solar oven. By contrast, once the temperature drops below 40, we don’t even have the experience to scrape off our windshields.

4. We look less Texan.

Nowhere in the traditional Texas garb do you see a winter edition. Cowboy hats are designed to be light and breezy and won’t do as much for you as a decent cap. Also, have you ever tried to walk over ice in cowboy boots?

5. We should be more like Australia.

You would think that with winters in Texas looking more like Decembers in Sydney, we’d embrace the same traditions: Christmas BBQ, maybe a beach escape with the family? Yet despite this Texans are still more summer BBQ-goers than those who fire up the grill for Santa. Besides, bringing home tamales for Christmas is infinitely better.

6. Bragging rights.

Despite living in a state whose temperature rivals the ninth circle of hell, very few Texans are ones who complain about weather that would cause a northeasterner to pass out without seconds. Our true griping skills come out once the thermometer drops below 70 degrees.

7. Football season versus baseball.

There’s no comparison.

8. We become even more survivalist in the winter.


Texas may have its share of weirdos building fallout shelters and stockpiling guns to protect themselves from the zombies at all times of the year, but we all share in their delusions once the sun stops shining and there’s a chill in the air. Even though we seldom get weather designed to trap us inside, Texans loot the shelves of grocery stores like there’s no tomorrow once November and December start coming. Who heard of preparing for the apocalypse in July?

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