When Does Lubbock Finally Cool Down? Here’s What History Says

The concept of a "long, hot summer" is an interesting one.

I was having a conversation with a friend, and we agreed that for reasons unknown to either of us, this summer seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye. We can't believe we're already talking about the end of summer.

The other things we agreed on were that it was hot, and we're ready for it to be over.

That brings us to the topic of the cooldown. When will it happen in Lubbock, and how will it unfold? Despite living here for decades, I still need those reminders of the actual dates so I can count them down.

My first question is: When do temperatures start dropping below the 90s, and when do we get those truly comfortable 80s?

Those two questions almost sound like the same thing, but they aren't.

When Does Lubbock Normally Drop Below 90 Degrees?

At this point, I'm not going to put too much faith in long-range forecasts. We've already seen how quickly those numbers can move around. Instead, let's lean on historical averages and hope Mother Nature gets the memo.

According to the National Weather Service's official 1991–2020 climate normals for Lubbock, here's how the end of August looks:

• August 27–30: normal high of 90°F
• August 31: normal high of 89°F

So August 31 is officially the first day on the historical calendar when Lubbock's normal high dips below 90 degrees. That's probably not going to happen, because right now the forecast for that day calls for a high of 98,

That's the good news.

The bad news is that a normal high of 89 doesn't mean we're suddenly done with 90-degree weather. It simply means that when you average decades of temperatures together, the trend finally begins moving in our direction.

When Do The Comfortable 80s Arrive?

September is where things start getting a little more encouraging.

The National Weather Service normals show:

• September 1–2: 89°F
• September 3–6: 88°F
• September 7: 87°F
• September 11: 86°F
• September 14: 85°F
• September 18: 84°F
• September 21: 83°F
• September 25: 82°F
• September 28–30: 81°F

In fact, the normal high for the entire month of September in Lubbock is 84.9 degrees.

That's probably the number I'm looking for. We may technically sneak below 95 around the end of August, but mid-September is when the historical averages really start looking like comfortable weather.

Of course, this is Lubbock. Averages are averages, and Mother Nature is under no contractual obligation to honor any of them. September has produced temperatures of 100 degrees or higher many times in the historical record.

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One more date for your countdown: astronomical summer officially ends with the autumnal equinox on September 22, 2026.

So I hate to break it to you, but we've still got some heat to get through. The encouraging part is that history says the slide begins very soon.

We're not at fall yet, but at least we can finally see it from here.