Late August · Extreme heat Critical

Texas lawn conditions

Updated

Heat holds through late week for many metros (NWS Dallas-class highs near ~107 Sunday / ~107 Monday / ~106 Tuesday with Extreme Heat Warning themes active through Sunday evening Aug 23 for many North Texas counties; Austin-class Extreme Heat Warning themes through Sunday evening Aug 23 then Heat Advisories through Wednesday evening Aug 26 (~105/~104/~105); San Antonio-class Heat Advisories through Wednesday evening Aug 26 (~104/~102/~103); South Texas Corpus Christi-class Heat Advisories active through Sunday evening Aug 23 while Brownsville-class Heat Advisories are expired this midday; Houston-class highs near ~101 Sunday / ~100 Monday / ~103 Tuesday under Heat Advisories through Monday evening Aug 24; Amarillo-class Heat Advisories continue through Sunday evening Aug 23 with Palo Duro Canyon Extreme Heat Warning themes also through Sunday evening (~103/~100/~102); Lubbock / San Angelo-class Heat Advisories through Sunday evening; El Paso-class Heat Advisories remain expired this midday with highs near ~101/~104/~102; NHC Atlantic TWO 800 AM EDT Sun Aug 23: NE Atlantic low—formation low ~10% / low ~10%; Central Subtropical Atlantic AL95—low ~20% / low ~30%; Eastern Tropical Atlantic wave—near 0% / medium ~50%)—survival irrigation, obey drought stages, scout chinch/grubs/hunting-billbug tug-test hollow stems/sugarcane-beetle night light aggregations/bermudagrass-mite witches’-broom tufts/mole-cricket soap-flush ridges/fire-ant foraging, fall-armyworm chew fronts, and banks-grass-mite stippling on stressed turf; skip heavy fertilizer; watch tip burn if reclaimed or well water runs high chloride.

Do this week

  1. Water deep on assigned days only—check drought stage before adding minutes.
  2. Mow higher with sharp blades; avoid midday traffic on heat-stressed turf.
  3. Skip fertilizer and most herbicides until stress eases.
  4. Audit irrigation for runoff, misting, and dry spots after each cycle.

Watch for

  • Tip burn from salts or recycled water
  • Localized dry spot / hydrophobic thatch circles
  • Grubs or billbugs under irregular wilt
  • Monsoon-related fungal flare where nights stay humid
Regional notes & context

Why this week

Peak summer in Texas is about keeping crowns alive under high evaporative demand—not chasing emerald color. NWS heat-dome patterns still favor widespread near-/above-100 °F from Texas into the Southwest through Sunday midday into late week (Dallas-class highs near ~107 Sunday / ~107 Monday / ~106 Tuesday with Extreme Heat Warning themes active through Sunday evening Aug 23 for many North Texas counties—South Texas Corpus Christi-class Heat Advisories remain active through Sunday evening Aug 23 while Brownsville-class Heat Advisories are expired this midday; Austin-class Extreme Heat Warning themes run through Sunday evening Aug 23 before Heat Advisories continue through Wednesday evening Aug 26 with highs near ~105/~104/~105; San Antonio-class Heat Advisories continue through Wednesday evening Aug 26 with highs near ~104/~102/~103; Houston-class Heat Advisories continue through Monday evening Aug 24 with highs near ~101/~100/~103; El Paso-class Heat Advisories remain expired this midday with highs near ~101 Sunday / ~104 Monday / ~102 Tuesday; Phoenix-class highs sit near ~115 Sunday / ~108 Monday / ~112 Tuesday under valley Extreme Heat Warning themes through Saturday evening Aug 29; Tucson-class Extreme Heat Warning themes also run through Saturday evening Aug 29 with highs near ~110/~104/~108; lower Colorado / Yuma / Imperial / Chuckwalla Extreme Heat Warning themes continue through Saturday evening Aug 29 with Yuma-class highs near ~113/~111/~114; Coachella / Palm Springs-class highs near ~116 Sunday / ~111 Monday / ~111 Tuesday under Coachella / San Diego County Deserts Extreme Heat Warnings through Friday evening Aug 28; Las Vegas / Northwest Desert-class ~110 Sunday / ~107 Monday / ~106 Tuesday under Extreme Heat Warning themes through Sunday evening Aug 23 for Lake Mead / Las Vegas Valley / Northwest Desert zones; Salt Lake-class ~96 Sunday / ~96 Monday / ~95 Tuesday with metro Heat Advisories expired; Fresno / Central Valley-class ~104 Sunday / ~106 Monday / ~106 Tuesday with Extreme Heat Warning themes expired but Inland Empire / LA-basin Heat Advisories active through Tuesday morning Aug 25 and Extreme Heat Watches through Friday evening Aug 28; Albuquerque-class ~97 Sunday / ~98 Monday / ~98 Tuesday after metro Heat Advisories expired); NHC Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook (800 AM EDT Sun Aug 23): Northeastern Atlantic non-tropical low west of Portugal has formation chances low ~10% in 48 hours and low ~10% through 7 days (further development not expected after tonight); Central Subtropical Atlantic disturbance AL95 several hundred miles southeast of Bermuda has low ~20% in 48 hours and low ~30% through 7 days (slow development possible while drifting west/northwest then accelerating north early this week); Eastern Tropical Atlantic wave expected to move off Africa Monday has near 0% in 48 hours and medium ~50% through 7 days (a tropical depression could form by mid-to-late week while moving generally west at 15–20 mph); SE Texas stays hot with Houston-class Heat Advisories through Monday evening, expanding Plains drought, and watering restrictions make calendar watering risky. Without a reliable leach rain, soluble salts and specific ions concentrate in the top inch.

Seasonal notes

  • Flush salts only when your water rules allow and turf can use the water.
  • Coastal vs inland microclimates differ sharply—follow your district first.
  • Amarillo, Dallas, Houston, and El Paso are different climates—spotty Gulf leftovers are not a statewide leach. Local extension and water authorities win.

Last updated

Content refreshed August 23, 2026 (Sunday midday) for Texas. Educational orientation only—not a site-specific diagnosis.