If you think this is going to be about Halloween, it isn’t.
Okay, maybe a little, but Halloween isn’t the answer to the question we’re going to ask.
What is the best month of the year in Lubbock?
You could make a pretty strong case for September. That’s when the college kids come back to town and give local businesses a much-needed boost. September also marks the beginning of high school football and Texas Tech football, so there’s suddenly a lot more energy around the Hub City.
December isn’t bad either. The holidays are pretty good in Lubbock. It even seems like some of that underlying meanness around town — don’t lie, you know what I’m talking about — fades away for a few weeks and everybody gets into the spirit of the season.
Heck, April is pretty nice with Easter, warmer temperatures and everything starting to turn green again.
November deserves some consideration too. If nothing else, West Texans are very good at smoking, deep-frying and just plain baking enormous amounts of food for Thanksgiving.
But none of those months can beat October.
October Has The Best Weather In Lubbock
October is the clear winner for one simple reason: the weather.
There may be no better stretch of weather in Lubbock than October.
According to National Weather Service climate normals, October begins with an average high around 81 degrees and a low around 54. By the end of the month, temperatures have cooled considerably. Even better, the average first freeze in Lubbock doesn’t arrive until October 31.
In other words, most of October sits right in that sweet spot.
It’s not scorching hot anymore, but it’s usually not really cold either.
That’s important in West Texas because we don’t always get much of a traditional fall. Sometimes it seems like we go directly from blasting the air conditioner to wondering if we remembered to disconnect the garden hose.
October is that little window in between.
It’s the month when you can actually spend time outside without immediately regretting it. You can sit on a patio, work in the yard, walk the dog, grill something or just hang around outside after dark.
Fortunately, people around here seem to be realizing that October is the perfect month to get out and do things.
Yes, that includes haunted houses and pumpkin trails, but it also includes football games, outdoor gatherings, patios, cookouts and just about anything else that’s better when you’re not sweating through your clothes.
Most nights, you don’t need much more than a hoodie.
Most afternoons, you don’t need anything more than a T-shirt.
That’s about as close to perfect as Lubbock weather gets.
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Every month in the Hub City has something going for it, but October gives us something we spend most of the year wishing for:
A chance to quit complaining about the weather.
At least for a few weeks.
October is pretty much perfect in Lubbock, and I can’t wait for the calendar to change.
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