Stephen F. Austin State University SFA ScholarWorks Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-1986 Some Statistical Analyses of the Climate of Nacogdoches, Texas for Applications in Natural Resources Management Alexander Sayok Stephen F Austin State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds Part of the Other Forestry and Forest Sciences Commons Tell us how this article helped you. Repository Citation Sayok, Alexander, "Some Statistical Analyses of the Climate of Nacogdoches, Texas for Applications in Natural Resources Management" (1986). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 32. https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/32 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by SFA ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SFA ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Some Statistical Analyses of the Climate of Nacogdoches, Texas for Applications in Natural Resources Management This thesis is available at SFA ScholarWorks: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/32 SOME STATISTICAL ANALYSES OF THE CLIMATE OF NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS FOR APPLICATIONS IN NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ~~~- Dr. Hershel C. Reeves Dr. Kenneth G. Watterston SOME STATISTICAL ANALYSES OF THE CLIMATE OF NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS FOR APPLICATIONS IN NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT BY Alexander K. Sayok, B.S.F. Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Stephen F. Austin State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science in Forestry STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 1986 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to my thesis director, Dr. Mingteh Chang, Associate Professor of Forest Hydrology/Watershed Management, for his patience, dedication, and guidance throughout the study. Dr Chang's discussion and criticisms of manuscript were most helpful in the preparation and completion of this thesis. The advice, encouragement, and comment~ given by Dr. Hershel C. Reeves and Dr. Kenneth G. Watterston, Professor of Meteorology/Forest Fire and Forest Soils, respectively, are gratefully acknowledged. I am especially grateful to my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sayok Lingo, and my wife, Maria, for their sacrifice and encouragement. Maria's love, cooperation, and understanding were a continual source of inspiration. Special thanks are extended to Dr. J. D. Lenhart for allowing me to use his Macintosh Cricket Graph software package, to Mrs. Jinnie Fleming, Mrs. Betty Morrow, Mrs. Kay O'Neal, Ms. Stacy Shaw, Ms. Jamie Taylor, Ms. Jennie Ting, and Mr. Jessie Wilson for their assistance in one way or another, to the School of Forestry for providing various facilities, to the Public Service Department of Malaysia for the financial support throughout my study, and most of all, to The Almighty God, who has given me the grace, health and opportunity to make this study possible. TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE INTRODUCTION ...................................................... 1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY .......................................... 4 LITERATURE REVIEW • . 5 Definitions 5 Climatic Changes 6 Sunspot Activity 7 Volcanic Activity 9 Carbon Dioxide 10 Water Bodies 11 Man's Activities ........................................ 12 Food Production •••••••••••••• 12 Urbanization ....................................... 13 Forest and Climate Relationship ••••••• 14 Light and Solar Radiation •••••••••• 15 Air Temperature ••••••••••••. 15 Forest and Precipitation 17 Climatic Study in the Nacogdoches Area 19 STUDY AREA 23 CLIMATIC DATA .••.•.••.•..•.•.••••..••.••• . 26 Climatic Observations 26 Sources of Climatic Data •••..• 29 Precipitation and Temperature 29 Streamflow and Floods 31 Humidity 32 Solar Radiation 32 Wind Movement 32 CLIMATOLOGICAL ANALYSES AND CHARACTERIZATION 33 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 36 Solar Climate 36 Sunrise and Sunset 37 Duration of Daylight . 39 Potential Solar Beam Irradiation •••••••• 39 Global Radiation •••••..•••••••••• 40 Net Radiation 42 Precipitation Climate .••••••••••.•••••••• 44 Total Precipitation ••.•.•••••.•••• 45 Annual . 45 Monthly 50 i PAGE Daily 53 Rain Day .••••••.••••••. 59 Annual 59 Monthly .••••••••• 60 Wet Spells ......................................... 69 Dry Spells . 71 Precipitation of Shorter Durations 83 Number and Duration of Hourly Storms 84 Intensity-Duration-Frequency ••••••.•••.• 85 Frequency of Occurrence •••.••••.•• • •••••••• 88 Thermal Climate •••••••••• 94 Mean Air Temperature 95 Annual and Monthly 96 Daily ............................................ 100 Maximum Temperature •••••• 103 Minimum Temperature •••••• 109 Frost-Free Days ••••••••• 118 Degree Days 125 Heating and Cooling Degree Days 125 Growing Degree Days 129 Frequency of Occurrence 129 Humid Climate ••••••••. 133 Humidity ••••••••• 133 Pan Evaporation 135 Streamflow .~ •••••••••. 140 Mean Streamflow 141 Flow Duration 145 Frequency . 154 Flood .....•........... 156 Wind 166 Effects of Climate on Agricultural Production and Forest Growth 170 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 175 LITERATURE CITED 181 APPENDIX I (History of the NWS Climatic Station at Nacogdoches, Texas) 188 APPENDIX II (Solar Climatic Data) 195 APPENDIX III (Precipitation Data) ................................ 200 ii PAGE APPENDIX IV (Thermal Climatic Data) •.•••••••••..•••.•••••.•••...• 212 APPEND IX V (Miscellaneous) •...•••.••••.•••.•••.•.•..•••.••.••••.• 231 APPENDIX VI (Frequency Distribution Models) ••••.••.•••••••.••••••• 234 No-rmal Distribution 235 Gumbel Distribution ..••••••••••••.•.••••...•••••••••.•••••••• 236 Log-Normal Distribution 238 Log-Pearson Type III Distribution •••.••••••••••••••.••.•.•••. 239 iii LIST OF TABLES TABLES PAGE 1. Mean Weekly Maximum, Minimum, and Mean Temperature (OC) in the Open and under a Dense 20-Year Old White Pine Plantation 17 2. Simple Statistics on Some Climatic Variables for Three Climatic Stations at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1965-80 •.•••.•.•.••• 30 3. Daily Total Potential Insolation (in langleys) at Horizontal Surfaces for Some Selcted Days at 30° and 32°N. Latitudes •••• 41 4. The Global Radiation observed at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1980, Versus. The Long-Term Averages Interpolated from The Climatic Atlas of The United States •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 42 5. Potential Flux Density on a Plane Parallel to the Earth and Net Radiation for Some Selected Days at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1980 43 6. Some Simple Statistics of Precipitation Records for Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••• 46 7. Normal Total Precipitation (in inches) for Every Shift of Decade at Nacogdoches, Texas .•..•..•.•.••••••••••...••.•••••• 49 8. The Occurrence of Daily Rainfall (in days) for Various Size Classes at Nacogdoches, Texas, (1901-80) ••..•.•••..•••••••••• 54 9. Maximum Storm Rainfall and Maximum Daily Rainfall of Each Year at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 •••••••••••••••••• 56 10. Normal Average Number of Rain Days for Every Shift of Decade at Nacogdoches, Texas ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 63 11. Total Annual Number of Rain Days Grouped by Five Rainfall Sizes (in inches) Texas, 1901-80 •••••..•.••.•.•.•...•••..•••• 64 12. The Longest Monthly and Annual Wet Spells (in days) at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 •..•••••••.••••••••.•••••••••••••• 72 13. The Longest Monthly and Annual Dry Spells (in days) at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 ..••....•..•••.•.....•...••••....• 77 14. Dry Spells of 15 Days or More with no Measurable Rainfall at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 ..••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 80 iv PAGE 15. Dry Spells of 15 Days or More with Rainfall Less Than Three Threshold Values in Three Summer Months (June-August) at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 •••••..••••••••••.•.••••••.••••••• 81 16. Monthly Distribution of Dry Spells with No Measurable Precipitation in 15 Consecutive Days or More at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 83 17. Number of Rainfalls, by Hourly Durations and Months, at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1955-80 •••••••••••••••••••••••.••••.••••• 86 18. Maximum Rainfall (in inches), by Year, in Stated Period at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1976-80 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••• 89 19. Maximum Rainfall (in inches), by Month, for Stated Durations Nacogdoches, Texas, 1976-80 •••••••••••••••••••••••• 89 20. Frequency of Occurrence for Five Precipitation Variables Observed During 1951-80 at Nacogdoches, Texas •••..••••••••••• 92 21. Some Simple Statistics of Monthly and Annual Temperatures (OF) at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 •••••••••••.•••••••••••••• 97 22. Normal Monthly and Annual Temperatures (OF) for Six Chronological Decades at Nacogdoches; Texas .••••••••••••••••• 101 23. Recent Normal (1951-80) Mean Daily Temperature (OF) at Nacogdoches, Texas ••••••.•.••••..•••..•••.•••....••••••••.••. 102 24. Normal Monthly and Annual Maximum Daily Temperature (OF) for Six Reference Periods at Nacogdoches, Texas •••••••••••••• 106 25. The Highest of Maximum Daily Temperature by Months and Year at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 ••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••• 107 26. The Highest Temperature Record on each Day of the Year at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 110 27. Total Number of Days with Maximum Daily Temperature Equal to or Greater Than 90°F by Year at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 III 28. Normal Mean of Minimum Daily Temperature (OF) for Every Shift of Decade at Nacogdoches, Texas •.••.••••.•••..•.•..•.••. 113 29. The Lowest Minimum Daily Temperature (OF) by Months and Years at Nacogdoches, Texas, 1901-80 •••••.••••••••••••••••••• 115 v PAGE 30. The Lowest Temperature (OF) on Each Day of the