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Shaded-relief map of Alma, Texas: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
TEXAS · ELLIS COUNTY

Alma

421 people, 470 ft above sea level in Ellis County.

470 ftElevation, city center
421People, 2024 estimate
5 sq miLand area
Sunny 62°
Sunny now Dew point 36° · N 7 mph · high 64°
City of Alma River Interstate 2 miles
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The Alma plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Alma

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 3:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Mid-Way Regional Airport (KJWY) · 3:35 PM
Sunny
62° Sunny Feels like 62° · high of 64° near 3 PM
WindN 7 mphno gusts
Humidity38%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure30.07 in →steady
Visibility9 mihazy
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 36° · Dry48° by Monday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Mostly cloudy
Tonight, about 11 PMin about 7 hours · 100% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 80.2 in · 6 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Ellis County
NWS Fort Worth and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 3:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:54 AM5:26 PM ↓
10 h 32 m of daylight, 1 minute less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
38
GOODAir quality index · ozone
Tomorrow: None, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
rain
rain
rain
rain
rain
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
64°
45°
51°
45°
56°
43°
CHANCE OF RAIN
100% · 1.64 in Sunday morning 50%
WIND, MPH
13
10
10
9
12
13
15
15
13
10
7
6
6
7
7
7
4
0
0
0
1
3
5
6
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 37 to 48° More humid: 45° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Chance of showers Chance of showers
64° 43°
30% rain — ESE 13 A
SUN Nov. 15 Showers likely; cooler Showers likely; cooler
52° 43°
100% rain 1.2–2.5″ E 14, gusts 25 B
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 43°
20% rain — NE 6 B
TUE Nov. 17 Sunny Sunny
63° 46°
0% rain — ESE 2 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
68° 56°
10% rain — SE 2 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
72° 57°
30% rain — ESE 3 B
FRI Nov. 20 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
74° 59°
10% rain — SSE 7 B
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Alma about 5,000 feet above the ground was over a point about 200 miles to the northeast three days ago, about 310 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. It came down from about 11,200 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the Tennessee Valley; at 10,000 feet, from the southern Plains. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1998 Nov. 13–14, 1998

The wettest two days this week has seen

4.23 inches of rain fell in two days, the most for this week of the year since records began in 1893. The next wettest, 3.62 inches, fell in 1971.

3.62″
4.23″
19711998
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Corsicana record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Alma stands on

Alma’s center stands about 470 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 380 ft to 490 ft, a difference of 110 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Neylandville and Marlbrook Marls, undivided (claystone), from the Late Cretaceous, 66 to 72 million years old.

The section below crosses 6 rock units mapped at the surface.

Alma, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
300 ft400 ft500 ft ALMA470 ftHigh point of the line510 ftWaxahachie Creekabout 410 ftLow point300 ft ← WE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Neylandville and Marlbrook Marls, undivided

Claystone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 72 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Wolfe City Formation

Sandstone-mudstone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 72 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Ozan Formation

Claystone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 72 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Nacatoch Sand

Sandstone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 72 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Terrace deposits

Sand. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Fine-detrital, coarse-detrital. Age: Holocene, less than 12,000 years old. About 0.7 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Alma’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Alma reaches Galveston Bay and the Gulf of America by way of Cummins Creek, Chambers Creek, Richland Creek and the Trinity: about 380 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Alma≈ 380 mi · Galveston Bay and the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF ALMA ≈ 380 mi to Galveston Bay and the Gulf of America Cummins Creek → Chambers Creek → Richland Creek → Trinity

Lake on the way: Woodlands Golf Course Lake.

140 miles of the trip are on the Trinity.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Alma; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Alma’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Corsicana, 12 mi south-southeast

Alma has a humid subtropical climate. Summer afternoons average 96° in August; winter nights fall to about 35° in January. About 42 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

57°35°61°39°68°46°76°53°83°63°90°70°95°73°96°73°90°66°79°55°67°44°59°37° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 TODAY ALMA 42.1 in rain a year
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month
August, average96° / 73°high / low, the warmest month
January, average57° / 35°high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year42.1 inwettest months: October and May
Snow a year0.4 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record113°FJuly 26, 1954
Coldest on record−5°FJanuary 31, 1949
Wettest day on record15.2 inOctober 24, 2015
Snowiest day on record8.0 inDecember 21, 1929
90° days a year100about 17 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°37and 2 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHumid subtropicalKöppen Cfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Nov. 13, to the last in spring, about March 10 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and upJune 11 to Sept. 16; normal highs reach 90°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Alma normally reaches 68° and falls to 45°. The record high is 88°, in 2005; the record low 23°, in 2019. The most rain on this date, 1.22 in, fell in 1902.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high57°61°68°76°83°90°95°96°90°79°67°59°
Normal low35°39°46°53°63°70°73°73°66°55°44°37°
Rain, inches3.143.274.013.994.283.772.112.483.285.023.163.61
Record high89° (1952)96° (1996)95° (1954)99° (1963)104° (1928)108° (1998)113° (1954)112° (1909)112° (2000)101° (1939)91° (1924)90° (1924)
Record low−5° (1949)−4° (2021)12° (1943)29° (2009)31° (1903)41° (1903)56° (1967)53° (1893)41° (1984)27° (1993)19° (1976)−1° (1989)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Corsicana, 12 miles south-southeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Alma on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Dallas TX · 38 MI 38 miles north Grand Prairie TX · 40 MI 40 miles northwest Arlington TX · 45 MI 45 miles northwest Plano TX · 55 MI 55 miles north Fort Worth TX · 59 MI 59 miles northwest Houston TX · 185 MI 185 miles south
FORECASTCITY
Map of Alma, Texas. Explore the plate
TEXAS · ELLIS

Alma

421 people, 470 ft above sea level in Ellis County.

470 ftElevation
421People
5 sq miLand
Sunny 62°
SunnyDew point 36°
1

Today in Alma

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy day 64° 0%
6p mostly cloudy night 59° 13%
9p mostly cloudy night 53° 12%
12a rain 50° 44%
3a rain 46° 76%
6a rain 45° 100%
Mostly cloudy
NEXT RAINTonight about 11 PM · 100%
→
Sat30%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
43
64
A
Sun100%
Showers likely; cooler Showers likely; cooler
43
52
B
Mon20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
43
56
B
Tue0%
Sunny Sunny
46
63
B
Wed10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
56
68
B
Thu30%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57
72
B
Fri10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
59
74
B
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1998 · NOV. 13–14, 1998

4.23 inches in two days, the most for this week since 1893.

2

What Alma stands on

Alma’s center stands about 470 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 380 ft to 490 ft, a difference of 110 ft: gently rolling country.

Alma, west to east Alma470 ftHigh point510 ftWaxahachie Creekabout 410 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center470 ft
Within 3 miles380 to 490 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (110 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceNeylandville and Marlbrook Marls, undivided
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 66 to 72 million years old
5

Alma’s year

Alma has a humid subtropical climate. Summer afternoons average 96° in August; winter nights fall to about 35° in January. About 42 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 42.1 in
August, average96° / 73° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average57° / 35° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year42.1 in · wettest months: October and May
Snow a year0.4 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record113°F · July 26, 1954
Coldest on record−5°F · January 31, 1949
Wettest day on record15.2 in · October 24, 2015
Snowiest day on record8.0 in · December 21, 1929
90° days a year100 · about 17 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°37 · and 2 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHumid subtropical · Köppen Cfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Nov. 13, to the last in spring, about March 10 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and up · June 11 to Sept. 16; normal highs reach 90°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Alma normally reaches 68° and falls to 45°. The record high is 88°, in 2005; the record low 23°, in 2019. The most rain on this date, 1.22 in, fell in 1902.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Corsicana, 12 miles south-southeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 380 mito the GulfCummins Creek → Chambers Creek → Richland Creek → Trinity

A raindrop that lands in Alma reaches Galveston Bay and the Gulf of America by way of Cummins Creek, Chambers Creek, Richland Creek and the Trinity: about 380 river miles.

Lake on the way: Woodlands Golf Course Lake.

140 miles of the trip are on the Trinity.