Drought in Texas, March 1 to 31, 2006

Name: Drought in Texas, March 1 to 31, 2006
Start: 2006-03-01T00:00
End: 2006-03-31T23:59
Location: Texas

March 1 to 31, 2006 · NWS OUN · 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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 28, 9:28 PM CST, 2 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 9:28 PM CST, 2 hours 32 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
928 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2006

.UPDATE...
HAVE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE HOURLY T AND TD GRIDS TONIGHT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THINK THE MODELS ARE CONTINUING TO HAVE
PROBLEMS RECOGNIZING THE EXISTING DRY GROUND/FUEL CONDITIONS...AND
ARE OVERFORECASTING SFC DEWPOINTS AND UNDERFORECASTING WIND
SPEEDS IN THE SW FLOW AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT ON WEDNESDAY. STILL
LOOK FOR RED FLAG CONDITIONS TO MATERIALIZE WED ACROSS MUCH OF
THE AREA ON THE MERITS OF VERY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS...WITH
WINDS CONTRIBUTING AS WELL ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE S.

WICHITA FALLS SET A RECORD HIGH TODAY WITH 87...BUT TOMORROWS
RECORD HIGH IS 92. OKC FORECAST HIGH WEDNESDAY WOULD BREAK THE
CURRENT RECORD HIGH OF 85.

THIS EVENING CONCLUDES THE 2ND DRIEST 6-MONTH CALENDAR PERIOD ON
RECORD AT OKLAHOMA CITY. SEPTEMBER 05-THRU-FEBRUARY 06 PRECIP
TOTAL WILL BE 3.69 INCHES. RECORDS GO BACK 115 YEARS.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... (ISSUED 240 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2006)

DISCUSSION...
MUCH TO BE CONCERNED WITH THE NEXT 7 DAYS. BORDERLINE RED FLAG
CONDITIONS DUE TO WARM TEMPERATURES AND LOW HUMIDITIES WILL PREVAIL
NEAR THE EASTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE THE NEXT FEW HOURS BEFORE
SUBSIDING. OTHERWISE...DOWNSLOPE FLOW WILL INCREASE OVERNIGHT/EARLY
WEDNESDAY AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. TEENS DEWPOINTS PREVAIL
ACROSS THE PANHANDLES AT THIS TIME WITH DEEP MIXING/ADVECTION
ALLOWING THIS AIRMASS TO MOVE INTO THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF THE
FORECAST AREA EARLY IN THE DAY WEDNESDAY WITH TEMPERATURES INTO THE
80S FOR HIGHS/NEAR 90 WICHITA FALLS. A PRESSURE TROUGH ASSOCIATED
WITH THE COLD FRONT SHOULD PREVENT WINDS FROM INCREASING MUCH ABOVE
15 KTS OR SO NEAR THE KANSAS BORDER. HOWEVER...IN SOUTHERN AREAS
WHERE MIXING LAYER DEPTHS MAY APPROACH 6-12 KFT...WINDS SHOULD
AVERAGE 15 TO 20 KNOTS WITH SOME GUSTS NEAR 30 KTS. WITH RED FLAG
CONDITIONS ANTICIPATED WEST OF INTERSTATE 35 AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE
40 WITHIN 24 HOURS...WILL BE ISSUING A RED FLAG WARNING SHORTLY FOR
ALL AREAS WED.

THE FORECAST BECOMES QUITE CHALLENGING ONCE THE COLD FRONT PASSES
AND SEEMS DEPENDENT ON RESOLVING THE FINE STRUCTURE OF THE WEST
COAST TROUGH THAT EJECTS EASTWARD IN SMALL PIECES AND ALSO THE POST
FRONTAL THERMODYNAMIC PROFILE OVER THE AREA. LIGHT PRECIPITATION
MAY BEGIN TO AFFECT THE AREA AS EARLY AS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS LOW/MID
LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS AND STEEPENING LAPSE RATES COINCIDE OVER THE
PANHANDLES. DEVELOPMENT APPEARS MOST LIKELY TO BE HIGH BASED WITH
LITTLE CHANCES OF RAIN REACHING THE GROUND. HOWEVER THE PROSPECTS OF
MODESTLY STEEP LAPSE RATES AND AVAILABILITY OF MID LEVEL MOISTURE
AND ASCENT KEEPS THIS FORECAST IN THE LOW CONFIDENCE CATEGORY. HAVE
MAINLY USED A CONSENSUS OF THE NAM/GFS FOR SHORT RANGE PERIODS. GFS
DOES APPEAR TO TOO WET AND OVERLY DEVELOPMENT CONVECTION THROUGH THE
DAY ON THURSDAY. HOWEVER THE NAM MAY ALSO BE TOO DRY GIVEN THE THE
ABOVE SCENARIO. A MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FORECAST SEEM BEST AT THIS
POINT.

HAVE CONTINUED WITH THE SAME PHILOSOPHY FOR FRI/SAT NOT SIDING TOO
MUCH WITH ONE SOLUTION...RATHER A BLEND OF THE GFS/ECMWF. IF THESE
MODELS ARE CORRECT...OUR BEST RAIN CHANCES WILL OCCUR IN ADVANCE OF
THE NEXT COLD FRONT THAT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH THE AREA SATURDAY/SAT
NIGHT. MODEL TRENDS HAVE BEEN FOR GREATER DEAMPLIFICATION OF THE
ASSOCIATED SHORTWAVE TROUGH THAT A FEW DAYS AGO SHOWED THE
POSSIBILITY OF A SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK SOMETIME THIS WEEKEND.
ALTHOUGH CHANCES FOR THIS APPEAR LESS GIVEN THE LATEST SOLUTIONS...
CAN NOT RULE IT OUT COMPLETELY. MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY SHOULD BE
AVAILABLE. HOWEVER...SHEAR AND ASCENT APPEAR LESS AT THIS POINT.
WILL KEEP POPS AT 40 PERCENT OR LESS FOR THIS EVENT WITH NO
HIGHLIGHTS FOR SEVERE WEATHER AT THIS TIME.

ONCE THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH...A SLIGHT COOL DOWN IS EXPECTED BEFORE
MODIFYING QUICKLY BY TUE/WED OF NEXT WEEK. THE WEST COAST TROUGH
CONTINUES ITS EVOLUTION DURING THESE PERIODS WITH STILL A
POSSIBILITY OF THE TROUGH OR A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF IT APPROACHING
THE AREA BY MID/LATE NEXT WEEK RESULTING IN RAIN/TSTM CHANCES
RETURNING.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
OKLAHOMA CITY OK  55  86  46  61 /   0   0  10  20
HOBART OK         53  86  46  60 /   0   0  20  20
WICHITA FALLS TX  55  90  51  65 /   0   0  20  20
GAGE OK           49  80  39  58 /   0   0  10  20
PONCA CITY OK     55  79  42  58 /   0   0  10  10
DURANT OK         59  84  55  67 /   0   0  10  20

&&

.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 10 AM TO 7 PM CST WEDNESDAY FOR OKZ004-
     OKZ005-OKZ006-OKZ007-OKZ008-OKZ009-OKZ010-OKZ011-OKZ012-
     OKZ013-OKZ014-OKZ015-OKZ016-OKZ017-OKZ018-OKZ019-OKZ020-
     OKZ021-OKZ022-OKZ023-OKZ024-OKZ025-OKZ026-OKZ027-OKZ028-
     OKZ029-OKZ030-OKZ031-OKZ032-OKZ033-OKZ034-OKZ035-OKZ036-
     OKZ037-OKZ038-OKZ039-OKZ040-OKZ041-OKZ042-OKZ043-OKZ044-
     OKZ045-OKZ046-OKZ047-OKZ048-OKZ050-OKZ051-OKZ052.

TX...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 10 AM TO 7 PM CST WEDNESDAY FOR TXZ083-
     TXZ084-TXZ085-TXZ086-TXZ087-TXZ088-TXZ089-TXZ090.

&&

24/25

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 28, 8:08 PM CST, 3 hours 52 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
808 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2006

OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-011300-
HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-NOBLE-
ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-BECKHAM-
WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-CLEVELAND-
POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-TILLMAN-
COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-JEFFERSON-
CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-FOARD-WILBARGER-
WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY-
808 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT...

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
NO THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED.

DISCUSSION...
THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE TOO DRY AND STABLE FOR THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT.

PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CST WEDNESDAY MAR 1.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
              NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...0 PERCENT.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL EXIST OVER NORTH TEXAS AND SOUTHERN
OKLAHOMA WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS
MOST OF OKLAHOMA AND ADJACENT PARTS OF NORTH TEXAS THURSDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
FIRE DANGERS WILL BE ELEVATED INTO THE EXTREME CATEGORY ON WEDNESDAY
DUE TO EVEN WARMER TEMPERATURES AND STRONGER WINDS.

THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AT 7 AM
WEDNESDAY MORNING...MARCH 1ST.

11/24

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, Hardeman

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hardeman forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 34.290, -99.746 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought conditions persisted across western north Texas throughout the month of March despite some rain. The entire area was in a severe (D2) drought at the end of the month. The dry conditions continued to affect farmers and ranchers across the area causing lower farm ponds and degraded pasture for livestock. The dry conditions also made the start and spread of wildfires easier across the area.

Drought, Archer

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Archer forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 33.615, -98.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Baylor

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Baylor forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 33.617, -99.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Clay

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 33.786, -98.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Foard

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Foard forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 33.975, -99.778 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Knox

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 33.606, -99.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Wichita

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Wichita forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 33.988, -98.704 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Wilbarger

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Wilbarger forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 34.081, -99.241 (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 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, March 2006

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: 5494457, 5494458, 5494459, 5494460, 5494461, 5494462, 5494463, 5494464.