Assessment of historic and future trends of extreme weather in Texas, 1900-2036
Texas is vulnerable to a wide range of natural hazards, most of which are associated with weather and climate events. The natural environment has evolved partly in response to these natural hazards. For example, plant hardiness is largely determined by ability to survive extreme winter cold and drought. The built environment, including for example homes, roads, and power plants, is designed to a certain level of resiliency to natural hazards. Human activities as fundamental to survival as food production and water supply are tailored to the particular combination of weather and climate risks at play in a given location. This report addresses historical and future trends in extreme temperatures, extreme precipitation, severe thunderstorms, and hurricanes. It also addresses trends in drought, floods, wildfire, and coastal erosion, to the extent that these natural hazards are affected by changes in weather and climate. For each natural hazard, the report considers the quality of the historical data, the historical risk and trends (data permitting), the causes of any observed or expected trends, and the projection of trends of future risk. For context, this report also considers trends in annual average temperature and precipitation.