Texas, 2002

Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 2002

April 1 to 30, 2002 · NWS BRO · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Extreme drought conditions have developed over all of Deep South Texas during the month of April 2002. Showers and thunderstorms occurring during the first week of April, provided the only rainfall during the month.

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.

Extreme drought conditions have developed over all of Deep South Texas during the month of April 2002. Showers and thunderstorms occurring during the first week of April, provided the only rainfall during the month. Rainfall amounts ranged from a few hundredths along the coast to nearly one inch in portions of the mid valley. Rainfall departures from normal for the year range from two to four inches below normal. Combined storage for Falcon and Amistad reservoirs are are at the lowest level ever recorded, with Falcon holding near 10 percent of normal conservation level. This continues to be a very serious concern for all of Deep South Texas, as drought conditions are expected to persist through the upcoming month.

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 Mar 31, 9:00 PM CST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 9:00 PM CST, 3 hours before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
900 PM CST SUN MAR 31 2002

.DISCUSSION...DEW POINTS IN THE 50S AND CLEAR SKIES WILL ALLOW
OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES TO FALL LOWER THAN THEYVE BEEN IN A FEW
DAYS.  SUB 60S ARE ADVERTISED FOR THE OVERNIGHT LOWS OUT WEST.
CLEAR SKIES AND NORTHEAST WINDS WILL PREVAIL INTO TOMORROW...BEFORE
WINDS BEGIN TO VEER UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF KATALLOBARIC AREAS IN THE
PLAINS. MOISTURE AND SOME CLOUDS WILL START TO RETURN LATE TOMORROW.
THE CURRENT FORECAST IS ON TRACK...WITH ONLY MINOR CHANGES PLANNED.

.MARINE...LIGHT NORTHEAST WINDS AND 4 FEET SEAS AT BUOY 020 THIS
EVENING.  ONLY MINOR TWEAKS TO THE UPCOMING CWF ISSUANCE.

MILLER/WATKINS

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

.BRO...NONE.

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, Brooks

When
April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 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, Hidalgo

When
April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 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, Jim Hogg

When
April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 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, Kenedy

When
April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 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
April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 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, Willacy

When
April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 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, Zapata

When
April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 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)

Drought, Cameron

When
April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 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

More

Every storm in Texas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2002

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: 5293870, 5293871, 5293872, 5293873, 5293874, 5293875, 5293876, 5294820.