was on December 23, 1989. Elsewhere, the temperature in Houston dropped to on January 18, 1930. The all-time record low at Houston's Hobby Airport, closer to the city, is . In December, southward-moving cold fronts can bring cold rain, low wind chills, and, rarely, frozen precipitation. Early January is the coldest time of the year, with temperatures moderating slightly by February. Winter is also the driest part of the year for Houston. Spring Spring comes with a gradual warm up from winter, lasting from February through May. Temperatures are generally not hot yet, averaging from in the day and at night. Spring thunderstorms are common, often with spectacular lightning shows. This rainfall prompts Houston's 10-month-long "growing season" to begin. March sees the return of many types of insects, including butterflies and mosquitoes, to Houston's warm climate. Precipitation Rainfall is the most common form of precipitation in Houston and is plentiful throughout the year. The wettest month is June, with an average of of rain. The city (and much of South and Southeast Texas) has its own irregular monsoon season, which usually lasts from May to October, but sometimes April to September. Houston normally receives of precipitation on 104.0 days annually. The most precipitation to fall in one year was which occurred in 1979. Total rainfall in 2017, the year of Hurricane Harvey at IAH in northern Houston, was 79.69; rainfall the month of the storm, August 2017, at IAH totaled 39.11. Houston has received less than of rain only once: 17.66 inches in 1917. In 2011, a drought resulted in a total of 24.57 inches with less than 1 inch recorded at IAH in six of the year's 12 months; only 0.09 inch was recorded that August and 0.11 inch that April. Flash flood warnings are common all year, and due to the flat landscape, heavy rains often threaten life and property in the city. Sea breeze showers which are monsoon-like (especially during the summer months, originating from the mesoscale convective cycle, where the polar jet stream usually forms an omega block) are common throughout the Texas Gulf Coast area (from Brownsville to the Florida Peninsula), which has a similar climate to areas like Mumbai and Kolkata – locals refer to the sea breeze showers as the Gulf Coast Monsoon (also called the Gulf of Mexico or the Texas Monsoon), despite Houston being 50 feet above sea level. The sea