106 degrees in Texas may be new record for US winter
A station next to the Mexico border recorded 106 degrees yesterday and, if confirmed, it may be a new record for winters in the United States.
AccuWeather Vice President of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin and AccuWeather Climate Expert Brett Anderson discuss the top headlines related to climate change in the Jan. 8 edition of Climate In The News.
A weather station in Texas measured a high temperature of 106 degrees F on Thursday afternoon, and it may have set a new weather record for the nation.
The 106-degree reading was recorded by a weather observer at a NOAA Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) station at Falcon Dam at Falcon Reservoir, Texas, just feet from the Mexico border. This sort of heat is very unusual this time of year, even in Texas. Historical average high temperatures in February average 77 degrees at Falcon Dam. Temperature readings of 103 degrees are more common during the peak of the summer.
If confirmed by NOAA, this reading would be the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States in February and in meteorological winter, which comprises the months of December, January and February.
A high of 104 F was also recorded at an automated NOAA weather station in La Puerta, Texas. Zapata, Texas, had the highest temperature of any airport, with 103 F.
These are actual high temperatures (F) from Feb. 26, 2026. (AccuWeather)
The temperature would need to be confirmed by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to enter the record books as the top February and winter value. This process can take months or years.
Across the border in Mexico, 106 F was observed in the city of Colombia and 105 F at Nueva Rosita. Both of those stations are automated weather stations run by NOAA. The airport at Monterrey, Mexico, reported 102 degrees.
The prior record for the highest temperature in February and the winter in the United States is 104 F, measured at Rio Grande City, Texas, on Feb. 26, 1902. Several stations in Laredo measured 103 degrees in February in 1986 and 2011. Falcon Dam also reported 103 on Feb. 24, 2017.
The Falcon Dam, built in 1953, supplies water to hydroelectric power plants on either side of the border.
Heat to last, just not quite as extreme
"Temperatures have throttled back a bit from their peak on Thursday in southwestern Texas," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "However, it will still remain hot in the region with highs mainly in the 90s into the start of the new week. Instead of temperatures being 30 degrees above the historical average, they will tend to be 15-20 degrees above average from this weekend through Monday."
It is possible there will be another heat spike with near-100-degree temperatures by the middle of next week, ahead of a cool front, Sosnowski added.
Farther west, temperatures will continue to challenge record highs into this weekend, including around Los Angeles.
Report a Typo
