Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2012

Name: Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 2012
Start: 2012-12-01T00:00
End: 2012-12-31T23:59
Location: Texas

December 1 to 31, 2012 · NWS EWX · 25 events in 25 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 25 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: 25

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 EWX wrote it up.

December was another dry month across South Central Texas and the drought worsened in 12 counties. Edwards County moved into the exceptional drought category (D4) and Kerr and Real joined Val Verde in the extreme category (D3). Bastrop, Blanco, Caldwell, Comal, Fayette, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, and Travis entered the severe category (D2). All the other counties were unchanged. Fire danger was moderate to high across the region. Thirteen of the 25 counties in D2 or worse drought had burn bans in effect: Blanco, Burnet, Comal, Edwards, Guadalupe, Hays, Karnes, Kinney, Llano, Real, Travis, Val Verde, and Williamson. Area lakes and reservoirs continued below normal pool elevations with Lake Amistad around 37 feet below normal, Lake Travis near 50 feet below normal, and Medina Lake 72 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer was 17.9 feet below normal, and just over 3 feet below the level in December 2011. Uvalde was in stage 3 water restrictions, Austin and San Marcos were in stage 2 water restrictions, and Kerrville was in Stage 1 water restrictions.

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 Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 11:32 PM CST, 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 30, 11:32 PM CST, 28 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1132 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012

.AVIATION...
/06Z TAFS/
WARM LOW LEVEL MOIST GULF ADVECTION PATTERN WILL RESULT IN A
CONTINUED INCREASE IN LATE NIGHT AND MORNING STRATUS AND PATCHY
FOG DEVELOPMENT. I-35 CORRIDOR TERMINALS MVFR CIGS LOWERING
DURING THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD TO IFR/LIFR CIGS...VSBYS LOWERING TO
LIFR IN PATCHY DRIZZLE AND FOG TOWARDS DAWN. CIGS IMPROVING TO
MVFR...VSBYS UNRSTD BY LATE MORNING BECOMING VFR DURING THE
AFTERNOON. I-35 CORRIDOR WINDS SOUTH 5 TO 10 KTS TONIGHT AND EARLY
SATURDAY BECOMING SOUTH 10 TO 15 KTS BY LATE MORNING. KDRT
TERMINAL VFR MOSTLY CLEAR MUCH OF TONIGHT WITH MVFR VSBYS IN FOG
DEVELOPING BY 09Z LOWERING TO IFR CIGS/VSBYS IN FOG AROUND DAWN.
CIGS IMPPVG TO MVFR...VSBYS UNRSTD BY LATE MORNING BECOMING VFR
TOWARDS NOON. KDRT TERMINAL WINDS SOUTHEAST 5 TO 10 KTS BECOMING
SOUTHEAST 10 TO 15 KTS BY LATE MORNING.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 828 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012/

UPDATE...
EVENING UPDATE ISSUED TO DELAY LOW CLOUD DEVELOPMENT AND LOWER
TEMPS. MIXING OF DRY AIR FROM ALOFT HAS CLEARED SKIES OVER MOST
AREAS EARLY THIS EVENING...BUT A FEW LOW CLOUDS ARE BEGINNING TO
FORM. THE DRY AIR MIXING HAS ALLOWED SOME HILL COUNTY LOCATIONS TO
FALL BELOW PROJECTED LOWS ALREADY...WITH ANOTHER 3-5 DEGREE DROPS
POSSIBLE BEFORE THE MOISTURE ADVECTION BECOMES STRONG ENOUGH TO
LEVEL OFF TEMPERATURES. WITH THE EARLY FALLS IN
TEMPERATURES...MANY AREAS WILL SEE A NEAR STEADY OR A POSSIBLE
SLOW RISE IN TEMPERATURES TOWARD MORNING. THIS WARM AND MOIST
ADVECTION COULD ENHANCE THE FORMATION OF FOG AND DRIZZLE...AND
WILL NEED TO MONITOR FOR AREAS OF DENSE FOG AND A POSSIBLE
ADVISORY LATE TONIGHT.

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 554 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012/

AVIATION...
/00Z TAFS/
RIDGING ALOFT WILL PROVIDE CAP OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AS SOUTHERLY
WINDS TRANSPORT GULF MOISTURE NORTHWARD. THIS WILL RESULT IN AN
INCREASE IN LATE NIGHT AND MORNING STRATUS AND FOG DEVELOPMENT.
I-35 CORRIDOR TERMINALS VFR CLOUDS BECOMING BY LATE EVENING MVFR
CIG DEVELOPMENT LOWERING DURING THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD TO IFR/LIFR
CIGS...VSBYS LOWERING TO LIFR IN PATCHY DRIZZLE AND FOG TOWARDS
DAWN. CIGS IMPROVING TO MVFR...VSBYS UNRSTD BY LATE MORNING
BECOMING VFR DURING THE AFTERNOON. I-35 CORRIDOR WINDS SOUTH 5 TO
10 KTS TONIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY BECOMING SOUTH 10 TO 15 KTS BY
LATE MORNING. KDRT TERMINAL VFR MOSTLY CLEAR MUCH OF TONIGHT WITH
MVFR VSBYS IN FOG DEVELOPING BY 09Z LOWERING TO IFR CIGS/VSBYS IN
FOG AROUND DAWN. CIGS IMPPVG TO MVFR...VSBYS UNRSTD BY LATE
MORNING BECOMING VFR TOWARDS NOON. KDRT TERMINAL WINDS SOUTHEAST
5 TO 10 KTS BECOMING SOUTHEAST 10 TO 15 KTS BY LATE MORNING.

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 304 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012/

DISCUSSION...
THIS AFTERNOON SUNNY SKIES PREVAILED NORTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM
BURNET TO ROCKSPRINGS TO CATARINA AS DRIER AIR IN THE BOUNDARY
LAYER MIXED EASTWARD. THE CLOUDS WILL RETURN OVERNIGHT AS THE
BOUNDARY LAYER COOLS WITH PATCHY FOG POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT IN
AREAS WHERE CLOUD FORMATION IS DELAYED. THERE IS ALSO A CHANCE FOR
PATCHY LIGHT DRIZZLE ALONG THE BALCONES ESCARPMENT DUE TO WEAK
UPSLOPE FLOW. LOWS TONIGHT WILL BE 10 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL
DUE TO THE HIGHER DEWPOINTS ADVECTING NORTHWARD FROM THE GULF. A
REPEAT PERFORMANCE IS ANTICIPATED SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY
MORNING.

WEAK ZONAL FLOW ALOFT WILL PREVAIL TONIGHT THRU MONDAY NIGHT. THIS
WILL KEEP SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS MILD AND RAIN FREE WITH ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES. AN UPPER LEVEL TROF WILL MOVE SE ACROSS NORTH TEXAS
ON TUESDAY AND THIS FEATURE WILL DRIVE THE TAIL-END OF A WEAK COLD
FRONT ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG THE
FRONTAL BOUNDARY A WEAK SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT WILL GENERATE ISOLATED
CONVECTION ON TUESDAY MAINLY ALONG AND EAST OF THE I-35 CORRIDOR.

ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY THRU FRIDAY OF
NEXT WEEK AS WEAK NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT ON WEDNESDAY TRANSITIONS TO
ZONAL ON THURSDAY IN ADVANCE ON ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TROF. THE SHORT
WAVE TROF WILL DRIVE ANOTHER COLD FRONT ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
ON FRIDAY. THIS WILL BE OUR NEXT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
AUSTIN CAMP MABRY              65  80  63  82  63 /  -   -   -   -   -
AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTL AIRPORT  60  79  59  80  62 /  -   -   -   -   -
NEW BRAUNFELS MUNI AIRPORT     64  80  61  81  62 /  -   -   -   -   -
BURNET MUNI AIRPORT            57  78  60  79  59 /   0   0   0  -   -
DEL RIO INTL AIRPORT           58  78  60  78  59 /   0   0   0  -   -
GEORGETOWN MUNI AIRPORT        62  78  61  80  61 /  -   -   -   -   -
HONDO MUNI AIRPORT             55  79  60  81  61 /  -   -   -   -   -
SAN MARCOS MUNI AIRPORT        63  80  61  81  61 /  -   -   -   -   -
LA GRANGE - FAYETTE REGIONAL   62  80  62  81  64 /  -   -   -   -   -
SAN ANTONIO INTL AIRPORT       63  79  62  79  63 /  -   -   -   -   -
STINSON MUNI AIRPORT           60  80  62  80  63 /  -   -   -   -   -

&&

.EWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

MESOSCALE/AVIATION...02
SYNOPTIC/GRIDS...18

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 30, 8:43 PM CST, 3 hours 17 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
843 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012

TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-011600-
LLANO-BURNET-WILLIAMSON-VAL VERDE-EDWARDS-REAL-KERR-BANDERA-
GILLESPIE-KENDALL-BLANCO-HAYS-TRAVIS-BASTROP-LEE-KINNEY-UVALDE-
MEDINA-BEXAR-COMAL-GUADALUPE-CALDWELL-FAYETTE-MAVERICK-ZAVALA-
FRIO-ATASCOSA-WILSON-KARNES-GONZALES-DE WITT-LAVACA-DIMMIT-
843 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT...

PATCHY DENSE FOG IS POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTH
CENTRAL TEXAS. A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED. OTHERWISE NO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...

PATCHY DENSE FOG IS POSSIBLE EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AND EARLY
SUNDAY MORNING. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS
TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

25 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Bandera

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Bandera forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.747, -99.246 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Bastrop

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Bastrop forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.104, -97.312 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Blanco

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Blanco forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.266, -98.400 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Burnet

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Burnet forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.788, -98.182 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Caldwell

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Caldwell forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.837, -97.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Comal

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Comal forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.808, -98.278 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, De Witt

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: De Witt forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.082, -97.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Edwards

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Edwards forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.983, -100.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Fayette

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Fayette forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.877, -96.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gillespie

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Gillespie forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.318, -98.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gonzales

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Gonzales forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.457, -97.492 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Guadalupe

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Guadalupe forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.583, -97.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hays

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hays forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.058, -98.031 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Karnes

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Karnes forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 28.906, -97.859 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kendall

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Kendall forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.945, -98.712 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kerr

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Kerr forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.062, -99.350 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kinney

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Kinney forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.350, -100.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lavaca

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lavaca forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.384, -96.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lee

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.311, -96.966 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Llano

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Llano forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.706, -98.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Real

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Real forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.832, -99.822 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Travis

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Travis forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.335, -97.782 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Uvalde

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Uvalde forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.357, -99.762 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Val Verde

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Val Verde forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 29.893, -101.152 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Williamson

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Williamson forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 30.648, -97.601 (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 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, December 2012

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: 422038, 422039, 422040, 422041, 422042, 422043, 422044, 422045, 422047, 422053, 422058, 422064, 422068, 422072, 422076, 422077, 422078, 422079, 422080, 422081, 422082, 422083, 422084, 422085, 422086.