Texas

Climate

Texas is a huge state and thusly experiences an extreme variety of weather. The state is very warm in the summer months, with temperatures often above 100ºF 38ºC. In West Texas and the Panhandle, summers are usually dry with fits of stormy weather. North Dallas/Fort Worth region and coastal Houston region areas have unstable climates hence the oft-repeated saying about Texas weather: "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes" – though 10 minutes later you might not like the change.

Thunderstorms are common, sometimes generating tornadoes and hailstorms. It is often warmer near the coast, though humidity can be unbearable in the summer. Conversely, the spring, autumn and winter are relatively pleasant for most of the state. It rarely dips below the freezing point in winter, except in the Panhandle region where the winters can get quite cold Lubbock and Amarillo have suffered devastating blizzards in the past, and, though it is quite rare, even points as far south as Corpus Christi and Brownsville have seen snow.

People

The ethnic background of Texas is extremely diverse. Fully one-third of the population has some sort of Hispanic background. There are also many German settlements such as Fredericksburg and New Braunfels, as well as Norwegian, Polish, Czech, Swedish and French settlements. Also, a sizeable number of African-Americans mainly in East and Southeast Texas and Asian-Americans often in in metropolitan areas of Texas can be found.

History

France, Spain and Mexico have all laid claim to Texas at one point or another. However, in 1836, Texas won its independence from Mexico and became the Republic of Texas. The most famous battle of the fight for independence was the stand at the Alamo. Although tragic, the sacrifice allowed the main army of Texas time enough to gather their strength and defeat the formidable Mexican army, led by General Santa Anna. Nine years later Texas agreed to be annexed by the United States and became the 28th state of the Union.