NWS Lubbock Cold Weather Records

Cold Air Climatology for Lubbock

Table Based on Records for Lubbock, Texas
Decade	Highs 11°-15°F	Highs ≤ 10°F	Lows 1°-5°F	Lows ≤ 0°F	Totals
1940s	-	-	4	3	7
1950s	-	-	7	4	11
1960s	1	1	13	6	21
1970s	2	-	12	8	22
1980s	6	3	20	6	35
1990s	3	-	4	-	7
2000s	-	-	3	-	3
2010s	1	-	8	-	9
2020s (thru 2021 summer)	2	-	3	2	7
Totals	15	4	74	29	122

The above table shows that the 1960s through the 1980s contained the greatest frequency of cold highs and cold lows, collectively. However, lows below 5°F have been observed in every decade since the 1940s. Interestingly, the last time the temperature at Lubbock officially dipped below 0°F was way back on December 23 of 1989, when the mercury bottomed out at -1°F. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -17°F on February 8, 1933.

Consecutive Days Lubbock has Remained at or Below 32°F
Rank	Number of Days	End Date
1	8	12/25/1983
2t	7	2/18/2021
2t	7	1/3/1983
4	6	1/9/1988
	6	1/11/1973
	6	1/29/1948
7	5	2/12/1986
	5	1/25/1966
	5	2/1/1951
	5	12/16/1932
11	4	occurred 21 times
		(most recently 1/2/2015)

The above table shows that 1983 was privileged to be part of the two longest stretches of temperatures at or below freezing in Lubbock. The longest stretch in December of 1983 (temperatures remained at or below 32°F for 207 consecutive hours) was associated with only light amounts of snowfall (4 measurable snowfalls totaling only 1.1"). On the other hand, the extended cold stretch in late 1982 into early 1983 saw at total of 8.8" of snow fall, with 8.1" of that falling on the 1st of 1983. This cold stretch was also preceded by a 2.9" snowfall on December 26 of 1982. In fact 2" or more remained on the ground from December 27, 1982 all the way through January 8, 1983, a 13 day stretch. The extended cold stretch in February of 2021 fell somewhere between the two brutal streaks in 1983, tallying 8 straight days of at least a trace of snowfall, but only 3.8" of total snow.