Drought in Texas, September 1 to 30, 2001

Name: Drought in Texas, September 1 to 30, 2001
Start: 2001-09-01T00:00
End: 2001-09-30T23:59
Location: Texas

September 1 to 30, 2001 · NWS BRO · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

8 drought, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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 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 Aug 31, 8:15 PM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 8:15 PM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
915 PM CDT FRI AUG 31 2001

FLASH FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT THRU THE NIGHT FOR ALL OF DEEP S TX.
FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS FOR STARR AND HIDALGO COUNTIES TIL 1245 AM SAT.
FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS FOR JIM HOGG AND BROOKS COUNTIES TIL 1000 PM FRI.

EXPLOSIVE CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT TOOK PLACE THIS EVENING AS LINE FROM
NW COLLIDED WITH LARGE COMPLEX OVER MEXICO TO PRODUCE RAINFALL RATES
OF 6 INCHES PER HOUR OVER SW HIDALGO...SE STARR...AS WELL AS S KENEDY
COUNTIES. SIGNIFICANT SLOWING OF LINES SEWD PROGRESS ADDED TO THE
EXTREME RAINFALL ACCUMULATION OVER THESE AREAS. LINE EXPECTED TO MAKE
SLOW PROGRESS TO E AND SE AS WILL THE COMPLEX OVER MEXICO WHICH HAVE
NOW BECOME ONE ENTITY. THIS PROMISES TO PROVIDE LOWER VALLEY OF E
HIDALGO...WILLACY AND CAMERON COUNTIES WITH THESE HEAVY RAINS LATER
TONIGHT. THUS ALL OF CWA FAIR GAME FOR FLOODING RAINS...ALTHO NRN
COUNTIES OF BROOKS...JIM HOGG AND ZAPATA WILL BE GETTING N OF RAINS
THIS EVENING. THE FFW FOR BROOKS AND JIM HOGG FROM EARLIER RAINS
WHICH CAME IN FROM NW AND CAUSED SOME CREEK FLOODING THERE. THOSE
WARNINGS EXPIRE AT 10 PM. ATMOSPHERE CONDUCIVE TO KEEP THE STRONG
STORMS FIRING MUCH OF THE NIGHT WITH PWAT 2.23/LI -8/CAPE 4600/
K INDEX 35. H5 TROF REMAINS IN AREA WITH COPIOUS MOISTURE AND
SEVERAL VORT/DISTURBANCES MOVING THRU.

PUBLIC-SYNOPTIC-AVIATION-MARINE...57-KN / MESO...52-HG & VEGA

.BRO...FFA FOR TXZ248>257.
       FFW FOR TXZ252-253.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 31, 6:30 PM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

TXZ248>255-010230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
730 PM CDT FRI AUG 31 2001

...THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...
AND VERY HEAVY RAIN...WERE APPROACHING THE LOWER VALLEY...

AT 730 PM...AN AREA OF SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...AND DANGEROUS
CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING....EXTENDED FROM JUST NORTH OF PORT
MANSFIELD TO SULLIVAN CITY AND CONTINUED WEST INTO MEXICO.  THESE STORMS
WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

RIO GRANDE CITY...EDINBURG...MCALLEN...PORT MANSFIELD...RAYMONDVILLE...
AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES WILL LIKELY EXPERIENCE THIS AREA OF
THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN 745 AND 800 PM.

IF THESE STORMS HOLD TOGETHER...THEN THEY SHOULD AFFECT THE
HARLINGEN...BROWNSVILLE...PORT ISABEL...SOUTH PADRE ISLAND AND
SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES BETWEEN 830 AND 930 PM.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...AND YOUR FAVORITE RADIO OR TV
STATION FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

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, Zapata

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 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)

Although beneficial rainfall occurred early in September across much of Deep South Texas, a moderate to severe long-term drought persisted across the entire region. The heavy rain that occurred early in September mainly fell over the watershed of Los Olmos creek in Brooks County. The reservoir level in Falcon rose 11 feet over the course of the month, and ended up at 259.4 feet. Following are some selected annual rainfall departures through the end of September: Brownsville reported 8.12 inches below normal; Harlingen reported 3.73 inches below normal; McAllen reported 1.49 inches below normal; Falcon Dam reported 5.08 inches below normal; McCook reported 5.19 inches below normal; Port Isabel reported 6.44 inches below normal; Hebbronville reported 7.02 inches below normal; and Port Mansfield and Zapata each reported 7.81 inches below normal.

Drought, Jim Hogg

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 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, Brooks

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 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, Kenedy

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 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: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 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, Hidalgo

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 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, Willacy

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 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, Cameron

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 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)

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, September 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: 5268756, 5268757, 5268758, 5268759, 5268760, 5268761, 5268762, 5268763.