Texas, 1996

Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 1996

April 1 to 30, 1996 · NWS AMA · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

Rainfall continues well below normal. NWS Amarillo is now in it's longest dry period on record.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
$25 million
Events
20

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS AMA wrote it up.

Rainfall continues well below normal. NWS Amarillo is now in it's longest dry period on record. The month of April had two trace events and no measurable rain. During the past seven plus months the region has only received 15 to 25 percent of its normal rain. Agriculture has been seriously effected with estimated losses at 25 million dollars. Most of the loss is due to the total loss of dry land wheat pasture and increased feed cost. Further losses were from the forced sale of livestock in a depressed price cycle due to lack of feed availability.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Dallam

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Dallam forecast zone
Coordinates
36.278, -102.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Sherman

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Sherman forecast zone
Coordinates
36.278, -101.893 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hansford

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hansford forecast zone
Coordinates
36.278, -101.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Ochiltree

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Ochiltree forecast zone
Coordinates
36.278, -100.816 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lipscomb

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Lipscomb forecast zone
Coordinates
36.278, -100.273 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hartley

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hartley forecast zone
Coordinates
35.840, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Moore

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Moore forecast zone
Coordinates
35.838, -101.893 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hutchinson

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hutchinson forecast zone
Coordinates
35.840, -101.355 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Roberts

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Roberts forecast zone
Coordinates
35.839, -100.813 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hemphill

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hemphill forecast zone
Coordinates
35.838, -100.270 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Oldham

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Oldham forecast zone
Coordinates
35.405, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Potter

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Potter forecast zone
Coordinates
35.401, -101.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Carson

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Carson forecast zone
Coordinates
35.404, -101.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gray

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Gray forecast zone
Coordinates
35.401, -100.813 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Wheeler

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Wheeler forecast zone
Coordinates
35.401, -100.270 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Deaf Smith

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Deaf Smith forecast zone
Coordinates
34.966, -102.605 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Randall

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Randall forecast zone
Coordinates
34.966, -101.897 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Armstrong

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Armstrong forecast zone
Coordinates
34.965, -101.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Donley

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Donley forecast zone
Coordinates
34.965, -100.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Collingsworth

When
April 1, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Collingsworth forecast zone
Crop damage
$25 million
Coordinates
34.965, -100.270 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5573114, 5573115, 5573116, 5573117, 5573118, 5573119, 5573120, 5573121, 5573122, 5573123, 5573124, 5573279, 5573280, 5573281, 5573282, 5573283, 5573284, 5573285, 5573286, 5573287.