North Texas - Dust Bowl period record could fall

North Texas
Dust Bowl period record could fall

Childress, Texas, could tie or break today's heat record set in 1936.

Childress, Texas, has hit 100°F or higher in 22 days in August 2026, with several daily high and low records broken. Today, a Dust Bowl period record could be broken, and more triple-digit temperatures are in the forecast.

What is the Dust Bowl?

The Dust Bowl was a period of severe drought in the U.S. between 1930 and 1940 that devastated agricultural yields from South Dakota and Wyoming to Texas and New Mexico. Childress County, Texas, is cuurently experiencing severe to extreme drought conditions.

A strong high pressure set up camp earlier in August and hasn't budged much in the last several weeks. Triple-digit heat has been baking big metro spots from Oklahoma City to Dallas-Fort Worth, all the way down to the Rio Grande. Air conditioners have also been cranking with little nighttime relief as temperatures have stayed in the 70s & 80s.

Childress

Childress, Texas, has a forecast high of106°F on the TemperatureRadar today, and it could come close to the 1936 record of 108°F. The 14-day trend shows a brief 'break' in the 90s, until another warm-up into the triple digits this weekend.

Becca Parker