Texas · 202 m elevation

Barometric Pressure in Fort Worth, TX

• 30.01Average pressure (inHg, sea level)
• 163.0Swing days a year · 28th of 50
• 75.3Big-swing days a year (≥10 hPa)
• 88.6Significant 24h drop days a year

Overview

Fort Worth averages 30.01 inHg (1016.3 hPa) and 163 significant pressure swing days a year — but 25.2 land in January and just 0.6 in July.

Fort Worth runs two pressure climates in the same calendar year. From late October through March, Pacific and continental fronts cross North Texas every few days and the barometer works hard. From June through September, the western edge of the subtropical ridge parks over the region, the pressure gradient collapses, and the trace goes nearly flat. The seasonal split, not the annual average, is the real story here.

The annual numbers themselves are unremarkable. Mean sea-level pressure is 30.01 inHg (1016.3 hPa), the median is 29.98 inHg (1015.4 hPa), and the middle 90% of hours fall between 29.72 inHg (1006.5 hPa) and 30.38 inHg (1028.7 hPa). Standard deviation is 0.20 inHg (6.69 hPa), which ranks #28 of the 50 cities in this comparison and sits just under the national median of 6.87 hPa. The typical 24-hour change is only 0.08 inHg (2.7 hPa).

By swing frequency Fort Worth also lands at #28 of 50, with 163 significant swing days per year — days with a 24-hour change of at least 0.18 inHg (6 hPa) — against a national median of 180.7. Big-swing days, meaning a change of 0.30 inHg (10 hPa) or more, run 75.3 per year versus a median of 86.1, again #28. Dallas, 30 miles east, reads almost identically at 155.1 swing days; Houston, closer to the Gulf's damping influence, sees 107.3, so Fort Worth has about 1.5 times Houston's swing days and nearly twice its big-swing days. Denver, the most volatile city in the set, records 281.6 swing days, 1.73 times Fort Worth's total. Miami, the calmest, gets 19.8, roughly one-eighth of Fort Worth's count. One practical note on elevation: the city sits at 202 m, and mean station pressure is 29.31 inHg (992.6 hPa) against the sea-level-corrected mean of 30.01 inHg (1016.3 hPa). That 0.70 inHg (23.7 hPa) offset is what separates a home barometer reading in uncorrected mode from the number on a weather app.

Migraine & pressure-sensitivity outlook

• Low — under 6 hPa (0.18 inHg)
• Elevated — 6 to 10 hPa
• High — 10 hPa (0.30 inHg) or more
• Dashed outline = forecast (after today)

Association only. This calendar shows days when pressure changed — or is forecast to change — sharply over 24 hours, conditions associated with pressure sensitivity in some people. It is not a prediction of symptoms, not a diagnosis, and not medical advice. The 30 days of history are there so you can compare the days you actually felt something against what the barometer did. Talk to a clinician about headache or migraine management.

For people who track barometric pressure as a trigger, Fort Worth is a seasonal pattern rather than a year-round one. The city records 163 significant swing days and 88.6 drop days per year, both slightly below the national medians of 180.7 and 86.1 big-swing days. The distribution is what matters: January alone contributes 25.2 swing days and 15.0 drop days, while July contributes 0.6 and 0.2. Roughly nine out of ten of the year's swing days occur between October and April.

The active-season pattern is frontal. On a typical day the 24-hour change is only 0.08 inHg (2.7 hPa), but the 95th-percentile day moves 0.36 inHg (12.3 hPa), and 6-hour changes reach 0.13 inHg (4.5 hPa) at the 5th percentile — the fast transitions many pressure-sensitive people report as triggers. The steepest 6-hour fall in the record is 0.33 inHg (11.2 hPa). Because the biggest rises here exceed the biggest falls, post-frontal high-pressure builds are as much a part of the pattern as the pre-frontal drops.

Comparatively, Fort Worth ranks #28 of 50 for both swing days and big-swing days, putting it in the calmer half but well short of genuinely stable. It sees about 1.5 times Houston's swing days and nearly twice its big-swing days, but only 58% of Denver's swing days and 44% of its big-swing days. Against Miami, the steadiest city in the set, Fort Worth has more than eight times the swing days and over twenty times the big-swing days. Its worst single day on record, a 0.65 inHg (22 hPa) fall, ranks #38 of 50 for maximum 24-hour drop — Boston's worst, at 51.5 hPa, is more than twice as large. Severity is modest here and frequency is concentrated, with July and August averaging fewer than two significant swing days between them.

Seasonal patterns

January is the most active month by every measure: the highest monthly mean at 30.16 inHg (1021.2 hPa), the highest monthly standard deviation at 0.25 inHg (8.49 hPa), 25.2 swing days, and 15.0 drop days — significant 24-hour falls. February follows with 23.7 swing days, then March at 21.9 and December at 21.2. Together, October through April account for 143.7 of the year's 163 swing days, or 88% of the annual total.

Summer is the opposite extreme. July's standard deviation is 0.08 inHg (2.73 hPa), roughly a third of January's, and the month averages 0.6 swing days and 0.2 drop days. August is barely busier at 1.4 swing days. June carries the lowest monthly mean at 29.91 inHg (1012.7 hPa). September stays quiet at 2.7 swing days before October jumps to 13.4 — the sharpest month-to-month transition on the calendar and a reliable marker for the start of the active season.

The extremes are all cool-season events. The record high of 30.92 inHg (1047.2 hPa) came on January 7, 2015, and was followed immediately by a 0.62 inHg (21 hPa) drop over the 24 hours ending January 8 — a strong arctic high moving through, then moving off. The record low of 29.35 inHg (994 hPa) was set on January 21, 2017, giving a decade-long span of 1.57 inHg (53.2 hPa). The five sharpest 24-hour drops in the record ended on February 26, 2023 at 0.65 inHg (22 hPa), December 16, 2016 at 0.63 inHg (21.2 hPa), January 8, 2015 and November 28, 2016 at 0.62 inHg (21 hPa) each, and March 13, 2019 at 0.61 inHg (20.7 hPa). Every one falls between November and March. Note also that the largest rise on record, 1.00 inHg (33.8 hPa) in 24 hours, is considerably bigger than the largest fall — cold fronts and the high-pressure builds behind them push the barometer up harder here than storms pull it down.

Month by month

Swing days: 24-hour change of at least 6 hPa (0.18 inHg). Drop days: 24-hour fall of at least 6 hPa. Averages per year, 2015–2024.

Records and extremes

Sharpest 24-hour drops, 2015–2024

Nearby cities

• Dallas, TX
• Austin, TX
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Houston, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Tulsa, OK

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