Technique for estimating the magnitude and frequency of floods in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area, Texas

1982 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Fort Worth

scholarly journals The Urban Heat Island of the North-Central Texas Region and Its Relation to the 2011 Severe Texas Drought

2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 2418-2433 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. E. Winguth ◽  
B. Kelp
Keyword(s):  
Urban Heat Island ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Fort Worth ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Maximum Heat ◽  
Urban Heat

AbstractHourly surface temperature differences between Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, metropolitan and rural sites have been used to calculate the urban heat island from 2001 to 2011. The heat island peaked after sunset and was particularly strong during the drought and heat wave in July 2011, reaching a single-day instantaneous maximum value of 5.4°C and a monthly mean maximum of 3.4°C, as compared with the 2001–11 July average of 2.4°C. This severe drought caused faster warming of rural locations relative to the metropolitan area in the morning as a result of lower soil moisture content, which led to an average negative heat island in July 2011 of −2.3°C at 1100 central standard time. The ground-based assessment of canopy air temperature at screening level has been supported by a remotely sensed surface estimate from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra satellite, highlighting a dual-peak maximum heat island in the major city centers of Dallas and Fort Worth. Both ground-based and remotely sensed spatial analyses of the maximum heat island indicate a northwest shift, the result of southeast winds in July 2011 of ~2 m s−1 on average. There was an overall positive trend in the urban heat island of 0.14°C decade−1 in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area from 2001 to 2011, due to rapid urbanization. Superimposed on this trend are significant interannual and decadal variations that influence the urban climate.

scholarly journals An Updated Hardiness Zone Map for Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 694-696
Author(s):  
Derald A. Harp ◽  
Edward L. McWilliams ◽  
Michael A. Arnold ◽  
John F. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Anthropogenic Heat ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Fort Worth ◽  
Westward Expansion ◽  
Contour Maps ◽  
National Climatic Data Center ◽  
Local Plant ◽  
Plant Hardiness

The combination of concrete and asphalt surfaces, large buildings, lack of surface water, and anthropogenic heat inputs result in urban temperatures warmer than surrounding rural areas. This effect is often most pronounced with winter minimum temperatures and may cause changes in local plant hardiness zones. Local minimum temperatures were obtained for the years 1974-96 from the National Climatic Data Center and the Office of the State Climatologist of Texas for all recording stations within the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas metropolitan area. Data were averaged and analyzed in two groups: 1974-86 and 1987-96. Contour maps were created using Surfer software. The 1974-86 local map had only one major difference from the 1990 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map, which was the inclusion of 8a temperatures in more western portions of the metroplex. The inclusion of the years 1987-96 resulted in the westward expansion of 8a and a new 8b zone near downtown Dallas. These changes mimic the expansion of suburban development and increased urbanization over the last decade. We propose an updated plant hardiness zone map for this metropolitan area, which should more accurately reflect changes that have occurred since publication of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map.

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