Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2001

Name: Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2001
Start: 2001-12-01T00:00
End: 2001-12-31T23:59
Location: Texas

December 1 to 31, 2001 · NWS BRO · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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: None recorded
Events: 8

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 BRO wrote it up.

As the year 2001 came to an end, Deep South Texas experienced below normal rainfall for the month. However, portions of the ranch country of Brooks, jim Hogg and Kennedy counties did receive above normal rainfall for the month of December 2001. Moderate drought conditions continued through the end of the year with Brownsville only reporting 16.74 inches, which is 9.87 inches below normal. Rainfall totals the previous year at Brownsville were only 16.48 inches. As a result, 2000 and 2001 will go down as the 9th and 10th driest years since records began in 1871. Rainfall amounts across the Valley ranged from 5 to 10 inches below normal with the driest location reporting 11.09 inches below normal. Rainfall totals for selected cities are listed below:Brownsville...16.74 inches...which is 9.87 inches below normal.Harlingen...21.94 inches...which is 5.59 inches below normal.Mcallen...19.44 inches...which is 3.96 inches below normal.Port Mansfield...14.97 inches...which is 11.09 inches below normal.Raymondville...21.42 inches...which is 6.15 inches below normal.Zapata...13.58 inches...which is 6.14 inches below normal.Falcon Dam...16.52 inches...which is 4.93 inches below normal.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Brownsville, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 8:30 PM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 30, 8:30 PM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
830 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2001

BRO EVENING RAOB SHOWS GOOD MOISTURE LAYER SFC TO 6500 FT AS WAA
CONTINUES JUST OFF THE SFC. ASOS OBS INDICATE STRATOCU LAYER OVER
MOST OF CWA AND 88D DETECTING VERY LIGHT RAIN WITH NO ACCUMULATION
OVER THE COASTAL COUNTIES AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. CLOUD COVER
DUE TO OVERRUNNING IS VISIBLE ON IR SATELLITE IMAGERY...AS WELL.

WILL MAKE MINOR CHANGES TO FIRST PERIOD FOR LIGHT RAIN AND WIND
DIRECTION...AS MESOETA SHOWS SFC TROUGH NOSING TOWARD SOUTH PADRE
ISLAND FROM THE GULF WATERS OFF NE MEXICO. REST OF PACKAGE LOOKS OK.

MARINE...THE LIGHT TO MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW CONTINUES WITH
BUOY020 AND COASTAL SURFACE OBS REPORTING AN EAST WIND FROM 10 TO 15
KTS WITH SWELLS NEAR 3 FT AND ENE WIND FROM 5 TO 10 KTS
RESPECTIVELY.  BROAD SURFACE TROFFING WILL PERSIST OVERNIGHT OVER
THE BAY OF CAMPECHE WHILE NEAR LA...SURFACE RIDGING WILL MAINTAIN
THIS LIGHT TO MODERATE FLOW PATTERN THROUGH THE NIGHT.  MTRBRO IS
REPORTING SOME PATCHY DRIZZLE ATTM...BUT NONE OF THE COASTAL
STATIONS HAVE CHECKED IN WITH ANY PCPN ATTM.  ATTM...KBRO RADAR
SHOWS ONLY SOME LIGHT ECHOES MOSTLY LOCATED OVER NE MEX.  THESE
ECHOES APPEAR TO BE TOO LIGHT TO REDUCE VSBYS SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE
MARINE AREAS AND WILL NOT INCLUDE IN THE CWF.  WILL UPDATE TO ADJUST
THE WIND DIRECTION A BIT...BUT OTHERWISE...NO OTHER CHANGES TO THE
CURRENT CWF REQUIRED ATTM.

SYNOPTIC...59 / MARINE-AVIATION...60 / MESO...SM

INTERNET ADDRESS...WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/BRO

.BRO...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Nov 30, 9:15 PM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

TXZ248>257-011100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
915 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2001

...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT...

WARM MOIST AIR FROM THE GULF IS FLOWING OVER THE COOL AIR OVER THE
SURFACE...RESULTING IN A LOW CLOUD LAYER OVER MOST OF DEEP SOUTH
TEXAS. AS A RESULT OF THIS OVERRUNNING SITUATION...LIGHT RAIN OR
DRIZZLE IS EXPECTED OVER THE AREA EXTENDING INTO TAMAULIPAS...AS
WELL AS THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Cameron

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Cameron forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 26.152, -97.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Much of Deep South Texas remained very dry and reported below normal rainfall for the month of December. However, portions of the ranch country of Brooks, Jim Hogg and Kennedy counties did receive above normal rainfall for the month of December 2001. Moderate drought conditions continued over most of the area through the end of the year. Brownsville only reported 16.74 inches of rain for the year, which was 9.87 inches below normal. Rainfall totals for the previous year at Brownsville were only 16.48 inches. As a result, 2000 and 2001 ranked 9th and 10th driest respectively for Brownsville since records began back in 1871. Around the remainder of Deep South Texas, average annual rainfall for 2001 ranged from 5 to 10 inches below normal. The dry spot was Port Mansfield, in Willacy County, which only reported 14.97 inches of rain, a departure from normal of 11.09 inches. Some other totals follow:Harlingen...21.94 inches...which was 5.59 inches below normal.Raymondville...21.42 inches...which was 6.15 inches below normal.Hebbronville...17.39 inches...which was 5.32 inches below normal.Zapata...13.58 inches...which was 6.14 inches below normal.Falcon Dam...16.52 inches...which was 4.93 inches below normal.

Drought, Brooks

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Brooks forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 27.032, -98.219 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hidalgo

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hidalgo forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 26.397, -98.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Jim Hogg

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Jim Hogg forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 27.043, -98.697 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kenedy

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Kenedy forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 26.928, -97.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Starr

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Starr forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 26.562, -98.738 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Willacy

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Willacy forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 26.477, -97.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Zapata

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Zapata forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 27.001, -99.169 (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

Every storm in Texas in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, December 2001

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: 5274305, 5274306, 5274307, 5274308, 5274309, 5274310, 5274311, 5274312.