Drought in Texas, December 28 to 31, 2010

Name: Drought in Texas, December 28 to 31, 2010
Start: 2010-12-28T00:00
End: 2010-12-31T23:59
Location: Texas

December 28 to 31, 2010 · NWS BRO · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 5

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.

After a significantly wetter than average January through September, 2010, the spigot literally turned off for the vast majority of Deep South Texas for the final three months. The lack of rainfall, including many areas with zero measured precipitation since the last days of September, combined with nearly a dozen drying fronts that brought very to extremely low afternoon humidity for a day or two after, and six minor freezes which accelerated drying and curing of grasses and brush, led to a 180 degree turn from above to much above average wetness to pockets of severe drought at year's end.

The severe drought area included portions of counties west of the immediate coast, but was expected to continue and expand with the influence of a moderate to strong La Nina and the correlation to below average late winter and early spring rain and above average temperature.

Raw precipitation data at the end of December showed that most climate recording locations in Deep South Texas, including those with more than 100 years of information, had their driest October to December period on record. The exceptions were Rio Grande City, where two thirds of an inch fell at the tail of a cold front in mid October, and Raymondville, where a swath of light rain accompanied at least one front in November, pushing them into second place all time.

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 Dec 27, 8:17 PM CST, 3 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 27, 8:17 PM CST, 3 hours 43 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
817 PM CST MON DEC 27 2010

.SHORT TERM/TONIGHT THROUGH 6 AM WEDNESDAY/...A MID LEVEL POSITIVE
TILT SHORT WAVE TROUGH AXIS IS NOW CENTERED OVER ARIZONA. THE TROUGH
WILL BE MOVING EAST IN THE SHORT TERM...AND WILL COMBINE WITH MOIST
LOW LEVEL SOUTHEAST FLOW TO YIELD A CHANCE OF RAIN THROUGH TUESDAY
NIGHT. TO FURTHER AMPLIFY...RIDGING ALOFT OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS WILL
GIVE WAY TO SOUTHWEST FLOW BY TUESDAY OVER PLENTIFUL MOISTURE ON LOW
LEVEL SOUTHEAST FLOW ALREADY NOTED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY. LOW LEVEL
CLOUDS WILL OVERSPREAD DEEP SOUTH TEXAS TONIGHT...WITH HIGHER CLOUDS
ALSO STARTING TO DRIFT OVER ON TUESDAY. OVERCAST CONDITIONS EXPECTED
THROUGHOUT.

THE EVENING SOUNDING AT BRO SHOWS A STRONG INVERSION AT ABOUT 6500
FEET WITH AN INVERTED V PROFILE UNDERNEATH. WEST WINDS ABOVE THE
INVERSION ARE PROVIDING SUBSIDENT FLOW OFF THE MEXICAN MOUNTAINS TO
THE WEST. THE SOUNDING AT DEL RIO SHOWS A SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...
ALSO EXPECTED AT BRO AS THE MID LEVEL TROUGH TRACKS EAST. COOLER
TEMPS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH WILL DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE
ALOFT...BUT MOST SHORT TERM PRECIP WILL OCCUR BELOW THE INVERSION IN
THE BORDERLINE UNSTABLE PROFILE THERE.

DID NOT TINKER WITH THE INHERITED SHORT TERM FORECAST WHICH REMAINS
ON TRACK. RADAR SHOWS WET CLOUDS IF NOT LIGHT SHOWERS INCREASING IN
COVERAGE ALONG THE COAST. DUE TO THE ELEVATED INVERSION AROUND 6500
FT...ANY PRECIP WILL BE BASED HIGHER...UP TO THIS LEVEL.

BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY FOR CAMERON AND
WILLACY COUNTIES AT A MINIMUM AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS DUE
TO PRESSURE FALLS AHEAD OF THE TROUGH. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE
THE WARMER THAN NORMAL TREND WITH WARM ONSHORE LOW LEVEL FLOW.

ADDITIONAL LIFT VIA A JET STREAK ALOFT TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT
WILL PROVIDE LIFT FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH BEST CHANCES ACROSS THE
NORTHERN AND EASTERN AREAS. INSTABILITY MAY INITIATE A FEW LIGHTNING
STRIKES WITH THE STRONGEST SHOWERS...BUT THE GREATEST CHANCES OF ANY
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NORTH OF CWA.
&&

.LONG TERM/6 AM WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL
UNITED STATES THE MIDDLE OF THIS WEEK. MODERATE SOUTHEASTERLY
WINDS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS WEDNESDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY MORNING. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS MOVING
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE CWA ON WEDNESDAY. DRY CONDITIONS WILL
PREVAIL ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS ON THURSDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL
CONTINUE ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH FRIDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE
THROUGH THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING
SHIFTING THE WINDS TO THE NORTH. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR
SHOWERS MOVING ACROSS PORTIONS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THE WINDS WILL
INCREASE FROM THE NORTH FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING BECOMING
MODERATE TO MODERATE AND GUSTY ALONG THE COASTAL COUNTIES. LIGHT
TO MODERATE NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CWA
SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THE TEMPERATURES WILL DECREASE TO BELOW
NORMAL VALUES SUNDAY AND MONDAY MORNING BUT WILL INCREASE TO
SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN NORMAL VALUES BY MONDAY AFTERNOON.
&&

.MARINE...TONIGHT THROUGH 6 AM WEDNESDAY...WINDS AND SEAS AT BUOY
020 HAVE BEEN TRENDING UPWARD FOR THE LAST FEW HOURS...AND SEE NO
REASON NOT TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY POSTED FOR
THE NEAR AND OFFSHORE WATERS FOR TONIGHT. THE 6 PM OBSERVATION WAS
SOUTHEAST WINDS AT 17 GUSTING TO 21 KTS AND SEAS OF 3.6 FEET.
SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN TONIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH MID
WEEK...LIKELY MAINTAINING ADVISORY CONDITIONS. THE MECHANISM IS
HIGH PRESSURE IN THE NORTHWEST GULF INTERACTING WITH LOWER
PRESSURE UPSTREAM. THE LOWER PRESSURE IS THE SURFACE REFLECTION
AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH. CURRENT LOW
SEAS WILL QUICKLY BUILD AS SOUTHEAST WINDS STRENGTHEN. SCATTERED
SHOWERS ALONG WITH AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM WILL BE POSSIBLE
TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT AS SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT COMBINES WITH
CONVERGENT LOW LEVEL FLOW TO PROVIDE LIFT.

6 AM WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...THE WINDS WILL INCREASE FROM THE
SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE OFFSHORE GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL
WATERS THE MIDDLE OF THIS WEEK AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND
ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT MOVES EASTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL UNITED
STATES INCREASING THE PRESSURE GRADIENT. THE SEAS WILL LIKELY
INCREASE TO SMALL CRAFT CRITERIA AND SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ARE
LIKELY ACROSS THE OFFSHORE GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL WATERS WEDNESDAY
AND THURSDAY. THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE MARINE AREAS
FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHIFTING THE WINDS TO THE NORTH AND
NORTHEAST. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ARE LIKELY ACROSS THE OFFSHORE
GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL WATERS ON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT DUE
TO AN INCREASE IN THE WINDS AND SEAS BEHIND THE FRONT. THERE IS A
SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS MOVING ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE MARINE
AREAS ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT.
&&

.AVIATION...INCREASING CLOUD COVER AND LOWER CEILINGS WILL BE THE
RULE IN THE SHORT TERM. THE CURRENT TAF PACKAGE REFLECTS LIGHT
SOUTHEAST WINDS OVERNIGHT...ALONG WITH PATCHY SHALLOW GROUND FOG
TOWARD DAWN AND ISOLATED LIGHT TO MODERATE SHOWERS IN THE VICINITY.
CIGS MAY LOWER TO MVFR CATEGORY AT TIMES TONIGHT THROUGH MID TUESDAY
MORNING. BREEZY SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL BE ON TAP TUESDAY UNDER OVC
SKIES.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
BAYVIEW/PORT ISABEL  64  62  73  63 /  10  30  30  20
BROWNSVILLE          70  62  73  64 /  10  30  30  20
HARLINGEN            70  60  71  62 /  10  30  30  20
MCALLEN              71  59  71  61 /  10  30  30  20
RIO GRANDE CITY      66  56  70  58 /  10  20  30  20
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND   66  64  71  67 /  20  30  30  20

&&

.BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...NONE.
GM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CST TUESDAY FOR GMZ150-155-170-
     175.

&&

THIS PRODUCT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BROWNSVILLE

54/63

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 27, 1:37 PM CST, 10 hours 23 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
137 PM CST MON DEC 27 2010

TXZ248>257-281100-
ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY-
INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON-
137 PM CST MON DEC 27 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

AT THE BEACHES OF SOUTH PADRE ISLAND AND BOCA CHICA...THE RIP
CURRENT RISK WILL BE LOW THIS MORNING AND MODERATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM WILL BE POSSIBLE ON
TUESDAY...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.
HOWEVER...NO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE CURRENTLY ANTICIPATED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-281100-
LAGUNA MADRE FROM THE PORT OF BROWNSVILLE TO THE ARROYO COLORADO-
LAGUNA MADRE FROM THE ARROYO COLORADO TO 5 NM NORTH OF PORT
MANSFIELD TX-
LAGUNA MADRE FROM 5 NM NORTH OF PORT MANSFIELD TO BAFFIN BAY TX-
COASTAL WATERS FROM PORT MANSFIELD TO THE RIO GRANDE OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT MANSFIELD OUT 20 NM-
WATERS FROM PORT MANSFIELD TO THE RIO GRANDE EXTENDING FROM 20 TO
60 NM-
WATERS FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT MANSFIELD EXTENDING FROM 20 TO
60 NM-
137 PM CST MON DEC 27 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE
LAGUNA MADRE.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT FOR THE NEAR AND
OFFSHORE WATERS AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HIGHER SEAS AFFECT THE
WESTERN GULF.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY AND WILL
LIKELY BE EXTENDED THROUGH MUCH OF TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AND
AGITATED MARINE CONDITIONS PERSIST.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Brooks

When: December 28, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Brooks forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 27.032, -98.219 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The National Drought Monitor depicted a swath of D2, or severe, drought across western Brooks County beginning on December 28th. The Drought condition was largely Agricultural (exceedingly dry grass and brush), as water reserves remained plentiful, though were slowly dropping at the end of the calendar year, following the summer of 2010 excessive rainfall in northern Mexico flowed into the Rio Grande basin and stored at Falcon and Amistad International Reservoirs.

At the cooperative station near Falfurrias, with 103 years of record, the preliminary three month total rainfall of 0.12 inches fell far short of the prior 60 year old record (1950) dry mark, four times higher with 0.48 inches.

Drought, Jim Hogg

When: December 28, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Jim Hogg forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 27.043, -98.697 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The National Drought Monitor depicted a swath of D2, or severe, drought across all of Jim Hogg County beginning on December 28th. The Drought condition was largely Agricultural (exceedingly dry grass and brush), as water reserves remained plentiful, though were slowly dropping at the end of the calendar year, following the summer of 2010 excessive rainfall in northern Mexico flowed into the Rio Grande basin and stored at Falcon and Amistad International Reservoirs.

At Hebbronville cooperative station (105 year of record), the prior October to December driest spell of 0.61 inches in 1950 was shattered with a paltry 0.20 inches for the same period in 2010.

Drought, Zapata

When: December 28, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Zapata forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 27.001, -99.169 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The National Drought Monitor depicted a swath of D2, or severe, drought across eastern Zapata County beginning on December 28th. The Drought condition was largely Agricultural (exceedingly dry grass and brush), as water reserves remained plentiful, though were slowly dropping at the end of the calendar year, following the summer of 2010 excessive rainfall in northern Mexico flowed into the Rio Grande basin and stored at Falcon and Amistad International Reservoirs.

Drought, Starr

When: December 28, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Starr forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 26.562, -98.738 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The National Drought Monitor depicted a swath of D2, or severe, drought across northern Starr County beginning on December 28th. The Drought condition was largely Agricultural (exceedingly dry grass and brush), as water reserves remained plentiful, though were slowly dropping at the end of the calendar year, following the summer of 2010 excessive rainfall in northern Mexico flowed into the Rio Grande basin and stored at Falcon and Amistad International Reservoirs.

Drought, Hidalgo

When: December 28, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hidalgo forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 26.397, -98.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The National Drought Monitor depicted a swath of D2, or severe, drought all of Hidalgo County, where the combination of warmest, driest (humidity), and rain free weather was focused from the start of October 2010 and manifesting in a severe drought declaration by December 28th. The Drought condition was largely Agricultural (exceedingly dry grass and brush), as water reserves remained plentiful, though were slowly dropping at the end of the calendar year, following the summer of 2010 excessive rainfall in northern Mexico flowed into the Rio Grande basin and stored at Falcon and Amistad International Reservoirs.

Record dry rainfall (or lack thereof) occurred for the months of October through December at both McAllen reporting stations. At Miller Airport, the three month total of 0.11 inches fell far short of the nearly 50 year prior record of 1.03 inches, set back in 1961.

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 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, December 2010

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: 266295, 266296, 266297, 266298, 266299.