Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2011

Name: Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2011
Start: 2011-12-01T00:00
End: 2011-12-31T23:59
Location: Texas

December 1 to 31, 2011 · NWS BRO · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A strong front with extremely dry air ended Thanksgiving Weekend (November 27-29), with three consecutive afternoons with humidity falling below 10 percent across much of the region. Exceptional Drought would cover all of the Lower Rio Grande Valley except a small pocket in Willacy County to start December; Extreme Drought was confined to the Upper Valley and Rio Grande Plains.

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: 10

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.

Welcome rains and frequent damp cool-downs arrived starting on the weekend of December 10th, when 2 to more than 3 inches fell from western Hidalgo through Starr County, with 1 to 2 inches elsewhere except east of Highway 77 in Cameron and Willacy County. Despite the rains, only modest improvement was noted in Hidalgo County.

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, 5:41 PM CST, 6 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 30, 5:41 PM CST, 6 hours 19 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
541 PM CST WED NOV 30 2011

.DISCUSSION...SEE THE AVIATION SEGMENT BELOW FOR THE DISCUSSION OF
THE 00Z TAF PACKAGE.
&&

.AVIATION...ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TAFS REGARDING THE
TIMING OF WIND SHIFTS AND INTENSITY. VEERING LIGHT WINDS WILL
OCCUR OVERNIGHT WITH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. WINDS WILL RAPIDLY
INCREASE TOMORROW IN THE MORNING AND AFTERNOON...THEN DIMINISH
BEGINNING AROUND SUNSET. OVERALL...VFR WILL REIGN THROUGH THE
NEXT 24 HOURS.
&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 152 PM CST WED NOV 30 2011/

SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/...THE NICE STRING OF
FINE WEATHER WILL BE TRENDING TOWARDS A MORE WINDY AND WARM
PATTERN IN THE SHORT TERM WITH A COLDER AND MORE UNSETTLED
PATTERN IN THE LONG RANGE. THIS WILL BE A BIG CONTRAST IN SEASON
AS WE OFFICIALLY SAY GOOD BYE TO THE 2011 HURRICANE SEASON TODAY
AND BEGIN TO PREPARE FOR THE WINTER SOLSTICE JUST A MEIR 21 DAYS
AWAY.

TONIGHT...ONE MORE COMFORTABLE EVENING AS DEW POINTS AND WINDS ARE
SLOW TO RISE. NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS TO STEADILY INCREASE THE
MOISTURE LEVELS JUST ENOUGH TO RELIEVE THE DRYNESS BUT NOT ENOUGH TO
MAKE IT STICKY. TEMPERATURES TO MODERATE ANOTHER 5 TO 8 DEGREES BY
THURSDAY MORNING WITH 40S BEING A THING OF THE PAST...AT LEAST FOR
TIME BEING.

THURSDAY...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE MOVES EAST OF THE TEXAS COAST AS A
STRONG UPPER TROUGH DIVES INTO THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES AND DESERT
SOUTHWEST. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN THE TWO TIGHTENS INCREASES
OUR WINDS ACROSS THE CWA. MODEL GUIDANCE HAS BEEN CONSISTENT THE
LAST FEW RUNS INDICATING WINDS APPROACHING 30 MPH ACROSS MUCH OF THE
REGION. 925 AND 850 MB WINDS ALSO SHOW SPEEDS UPWARDS TO 35 MPH WITH
EVEN STRONGER WINDS AT HIGHER LEVELS AS THE SOUTHWEST FLOW BEGINS TO
STRENGTHEN IN ADVANCE OF THE UPPER TROUGH. EXPECT WINDY CONDITIONS
BY NOON AND CONTINUING TO AROUND SUNSET AND THEN WINDS DO NOT
DECOUPLE COMPLETELY. THE STRONG WIND AND SLOW INCREASE OF HUMIDITY
WILL BE A FACTOR IN FIRE WEATHER IMPACTS. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH WILL
BE ISSUED FOR THURSDAY. SEE FIRE WEATHER DISCUSSION BELOW FOR MORE
DETAILS. THE SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH WINDS AND MOSTLY SUNNY TO PARTLY
CLOUDY CONDITIONS WILL PUSH TEMPERATURES UPWARD. MODEL GUIDANCE
SHOWS THIS TREND WITH UPPER 70S AND LOWER 80S. TRENDED HIGHER THEN
BOTH GFS AND NAM WITH THE ATMOSPHERE HAVING A WARMER BIAS THE LAST
SEVERAL DAYS. MIGHT NOT OF WENT WARM ENOUGH IN SOME NORTHERN
COUNTIES. FINALLY THURSDAY NIGHT SHOULD FEEL MORE LIKE EARLY MAY
THEN EARLY DECEMBER AS SOUTHEAST WINDS CONTINUE AT MODERATE SPEEDS
OVERNIGHT WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO PUMP IN GULF MOISTURE. STRATUS
SHOULD FORM SPREADING INLAND AREAS SHOULD RESULT IN KEEPING
TEMPERATURES FROM FALLING TO FAST. GOING FORECAST SHOWS TEMPERATURES
A FEW DEGREES ABOVE GUIDANCE VALUES.

LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...HPC DISCUSSES CONTINUED
UNCERTAINTY IN THE LONG TERM MODELS...WITH SOME BACK AND FORTH
FROM RUN TO RUN...NOT ONLY BETWEEN DIFFERENT MODELS...BUT WITHIN
MODELS. THIS WILL AFFECT THE UPPER LEVEL PATTERN WITH THE ECMWF
HOLDING ENERGY BACK A BIT TO THE WEST...WHILE THE GFS TRIES TO
ABSORB THE MID LEVEL ENERGY AND GENERATE A MORE COHERENT POSITIVE
TILT LONG WAVE FEATURE. THE TIMING OF THE SURFACE FRONT DOES NOT
APPEAR TO BE DRASTICALLY ALTERED HOWEVER...AND IT STILL LOOKS LIKE
MONDAY MORNING OR SO...BUT THE GFS APPEARS TO HAVE A BIT MORE
INITIAL PUNCH AS THE TROUGH AXIS SWINGS THROUGH TEXAS. ON THE
OTHER HAND...THE LATER EASTWARD MOVEMENT OF MID LEVEL ENERGY VIS
A VIS THE ECMWF WILL SET UP A STRONGER AND LINGERING NORTH FLOW
OVER THE AREA BY MID WEEK...WHILE THE GFS IS ALREADY SHOWING A
RETURN FLOW WITH HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTED EAST. IN THE MEAN TIME
BETWEEN MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY STEELY GRAY COLD WEATHER WITH OVER
RUNNING LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE WILL BE IN THE FORECAST FOR BOTH
MODELS. THUS...MADE FEW CHANGES TO DAYS 5 AND BEYOND...WITH ONLY
MINOR UPDATES TO DAYS THREE AND FOUR. GUIDANCE SEEMS TO HAVE COME
MORE INTO LINE WITH TEMPS LOADED BY PREVIOUS SHIFTS...ASSUMING
MORE OF AN UNDERCUT GFS GUIDANCE NUMBER SOLUTION...AND THUS DID
NOT FEEL THAT ANY BIGGER CHANGES WOULD MAKE ANY MONEY GIVEN THE
CONTINUED MODEL UNCERTAINTY.

MARINE
TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...GOOD MARINE CONDITIONS CONTINUE
TODAY INTO THIS EVENING AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDS SOUTHWEST
INTO THE COASTAL WATERS. PRESSURE GRADIENT TO INCREASE ON THURSDAY
WITH SOUTHEAST WIND QUICKLY INCREASING AND SEAS RESPONDING TO
HIGHER HEIGHTS LATER IN THE AFTERNOON. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES MAY
BE NECESSARY FOR THE LAGUNA MADRE AND NEAR SHORE WATERS AS WINDS
APPROACH 20 KNOTS BY NOON. A DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM OVER THE
DESERT SOUTHWEST WILL INTERACT WITH HIGH PRESSURE STRETCHING
ACROSS THE GULF STRENGTHENING THE SOUTHEAST WINDS. THE STRONG
WINDS WILL PERSIST INTO THURSDAY NIGHT WITH SCA CONDITIONS LIKELY
TO CONTINUE FOR THE OFFSHORE WATERS WITH SCEC OVER THE LAGUNA
MADRE.

FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY...SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE FRIDAY AND
FRIDAY NIGHT...BECOMING STRONG THROUGH SATURDAY. SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY CONDITIONS WILL RESULT...WITH WAVE HEIGHTS RESPONDING
THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT AND INTO SUNDAY. THE CAUSE OF THIS WILL BE
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES...THEN
INTERACTING WITH LOWER PRESSURE UNDER A MID LEVEL LOW POSITIONED
ABOVE THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES. THE VERY TIGHT PRESSURE
GRADIENT WILL PERSIST AS THE LOW PRESSURE CENTER MOVES EAST INTO
NORTHWEST TEXAS ON SATURDAY. WAVE HEIGHTS MAY INCREASE TO AROUND
10 FEET OFFSHORE LATE SATURDAY. THOUGH HIGH PRESSURE FILLING INTO
THE LOW FROM THE NORTH WILL CUT OFF THE GRADIENT LATE SATURDAY
INTO SUNDAY...SEAS MAY NOT HAVE A CHANCE TO DECREASE BELOW SEVEN
FEET FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME BEFORE A COLD FRONT ARRIVES
ON MONDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL SWITCH TO NORTHWEST AND INCREASE
MONDAY AFTERNOON...WITH GALE FORCE GUSTS POSSIBLE MONDAY EVENING
AND NIGHT. WAVE HEIGHTS WILL RESPOND BY BUILDING TO 12 FEET
OFFSHORE.

FIRE WEATHER...A FIRE WEATHER WATCH WILL BE ISSUED FOR THURSDAY.
WEATHER CONDITIONS TO DETERIORATE ON THURSDAY AS WINDS INCREASE AS
THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS STRENGTHENS. A SLOW
RECOVERY OF DEW POINTS EVEN WITH SOUTHEAST WINDS RETURNING TO THE
REGION WILL POSE A THREAT FOR WILDFIRE GROWTH AND SPREAD. 20 FOOT
WINDS SPEEDS COULD APPROACH 25 MPH WHILE RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS
TO FALL BETWEEN 25 AND 35 PERCENT WEST OF HIGHWAY 281 AND 35 TO 40
PERCENT ALONG THE COASTAL COUNTIES. IF THESE CONDITIONS ARE
REACHED OR IF THE ELEMENTS ARE HIGHER OR LOWER RESPECTIVELY A RED
FLAG WARNING MAY BE ISSUED FOR THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
&&

.BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY
     AFTERNOON FOR TXZ248>257.

GM...NONE.
&&

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

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 30, 9:00 PM CST, 3 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
900 PM CST WED NOV 30 2011

TXZ248>257-011200-
ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY-
INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON-
900 PM CST WED NOV 30 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

A MODERATE TO HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS IS LIKELY AT THE BEACHES
OF SOUTH PADRE ISLAND AND BOCA CHICA BEACH THURSDAY THROUGH
TUESDAY.

AN ELEVATED RISK OF WILDFIRE GROWTH AND SPREAD IS POSSIBLE ON
SUNDAY DUE TO THE PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-011200-
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-
900 PM CST WED NOV 30 2011

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ARE LIKELY FOR ALL OR PORTIONS OF THE
ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FROM THURSDAY
THROUGH TUESDAY DUE TO INCREASING WINDS AND BUILDING SEAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Brooks

When: December 1, 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)

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across all but the northwest corner of Brooks County through December. Rainfall estimated between one and 1.5 inches during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition. Cattle and other herds continued to be thinned considerably due to very short grassland.

Drought, Kenedy

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

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across all but the extreme southern portion of Kenedy County (King Ranch area) through December. Rainfall averaging around one inch across the county during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition. Cattle and other herds continued to be thinned considerably due to very short grassland.

Drought, Willacy

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

Extreme (D3) to Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across inland Willacy County through December. Rainfall generally between one half and one inch across the county during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition. Cattle and other herds continued to be thinned considerably due to very short grassland. Additional data on crop damage may be added in early January.

Drought, Coastal Willacy

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Coastal Willacy forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across coastal Willacy County through December. Rainfall generally between one half and one inch across the coastal areas during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition.

Drought, Coastal Cameron

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Coastal Cameron forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across coastal Cameron County through December. Rainfall generally between one half and one inch across the coastal areas during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition.

Drought, Cameron

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

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across inland Cameron County through December. Rainfall averaging near one inch during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition. Additional crop damage may have been realized during late harvests.

Drought, Zapata

When: December 1, 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)

Extreme (D3) Drought persisted across Zapata County through December. That said, significant rainfall near 2 inches fell during the last three weeks of the month, alleviating conditions and allowing modest green up of some rangeland. Cattle herds continued to thin or be sold due to the lack of available feed and continued short grasses.

Drought, Starr

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

Exceptional (D4) Drought continued across the eastern half of Starr County through December 12th - an area which until then had received less than 5 inches of rainfall in fourteen months. Extreme (D3) Drought prevailed across western Starr County. Rangeland continued to wither to dust, and ranchers sold off more of the cattle herd due to insufficient feed in most areas. Relief would arrive on December 10th, when between 2 and 4 inches fell across much of the county.

Drought, Hidalgo

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

Exceptional (D4) Drought continued across all of Hidalgo through December 12th. Areas west of Mission continued to be pummeled the worst, with some locations still holding at less than 5 inches of rain since October 1, 2010! Rangeland continued to wither to dust, and ranchers sold off more of the cattle herd due to insufficient feed in much of western and northern Hidalgo County. There may have been additional crop damage from any late harvests. Relief would arrive on December 10th, when between 1.5 and 2.5 inches of soaking rain fell.

Drought, Jim Hogg

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

Extreme (D3) Drought continued across all but the southeast corner of Jim Hogg County, where Exceptional (D4) Drought prevailed, through December 12th. Rangeland continued to wither to dust, particularly in the southeast corner of the county, and ranchers sold off more of the cattle herd due to insufficient feed in much of the county. Relief would arrive on December 10th, when between 1 and 1.5 inches of soaking rain fell.

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 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, December 2011

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: 352626, 352630, 352631, 352633, 352634, 352635, 352636, 352637, 352638, 352639.