Texas, 2013

Drought in Texas, May 1 to 31, 2013

May 1 to 31, 2013 · NWS OUN · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

With only a few rainfall events across western north Texas during May, extreme to exceptional drought continued over the region.

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 OUN wrote it up.

With only a few rainfall events across western north Texas during May, extreme to exceptional drought continued over the region.

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 Apr 30, 6:27 PM CST, 5 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 6:27 PM CST, 5 hours 33 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
727 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013

.UPDATE...
REMOVED RAIN CHANCES TONIGHT ACROSS WESTERN OKLAHOMA
AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS. TWEAKED SKY COVER DOWNWARD.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
DRY AND MILD WEATHER IS EXPECTED TONIGHT.

THINK CAPPING WILL BE TOO STRONG FOR ANY THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT TONIGHT. ONGOING STORMS EAST OF LUBBOCK ARE
EXPECTED TO DISSIPATE WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING
OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

MBS

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 645 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013/

AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THIS EVENING... BUT MVFR CONDITIONS
ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES.
A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TOMORROW SHIFTING
THE WINDS AND INCREASING STORM CHANCES.

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 424 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013/

DISCUSSION...
BREEZY SOUTH WINDS CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON WITH A LEE LOW
DEEPENING OVER THE TX PANHANDLE. A CU FIELD HAS DEVELOPED NEAR THE
CAPROCK THIS AFTERNOON ALONG A SFC TROUGH/DRYLINE...BUT ANY
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD REMAIN WEST OF OUR FA TONIGHT. THE MAIN
CONCERNS THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING WILL BE THE TIMING OF A POTENT
COLD FRONT TOMORROW...WINTRY PRECIP ACROSS THE NW...A FEW SEVERE
STORMS...AND STRONG TO PERHAPS A FEW HIGH POST-FRONTAL WINDS. THE
NAM REMAINS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE WITH THE FRONT AND UPPER
TROUGH...PUSHING THE COLD FRONT THROUGH MOST OF OK BY 12Z THURS.
THE REST OF THE DETERMINISTIC NWP MODELS ARE SLIGHTLY SLOWER.
DECIDED TO LEAN A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE NAM WITH REGARDS TO FRONTAL
TIMING...BUT BELIEVE IT MAY BE TOO FAST WITH UPPER LOW/TROUGH.
POST-FRONTAL POPS STILL LOOK LIKELY ALONG 850MB BAROCLINIC
ZONE THURS AS POTENT VORT MAX SWINGS OVER THE LEE OF THE ROCKIES
SOME SEVERE STORMS REMAIN POSSIBLE TOMORROW AFT/EVE JUST AHEAD OF
THE FRONT. HOWEVER...MODEST MID TO UPPER FLOW AND CIN WILL LIMIT
ORGANIZATION AND THE OVERALL SEVERE THREAT. PROFILES STILL LOOK
COLD ENOUGH ACROSS NW/W OK FOR SLEET/SNOW/RAIN THURS MORNING. DO
NOT ANTICIPATE ANY TRAVEL IMPACTS THOUGH CONSIDERING HOW WARM
GROUND TEMPS ARE. A VERY TIGHT THERMAL/PRESSURE GRADIENT AND
STRONG N 850MB JET (50KT) BEHIND THE FRONT WILL RESULT IN VERY
WINDY CONDITIONS LATE WED NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. WE WILL NOT
ISSUE ANY HEADLINES FOR NOW...BUT IF CONFIDENCE INCREASES TON-
TOM....AT LEAST A WIND ADV FOR MUCH OF THE AREA WILL BE NEEDED.

MUCH COLDER TEMPS WILL IMPACT THE REGION THURS AND HAVE DECIDED TO
LOWER HIGHS INTO THE 40S FOR MANY LOCATIONS WITH RAIN
CHANCES/CLOUD COVER REMAINING IN PLACE BEHIND THE FRONT. WIND
CHILL VALUES WILL STRUGGLE TO CLIMB OUT OF THE 30S. TEMPS WILL BE
A BIT DIFFICULT FRI MORNING DEPENDING ON WIND SPEEDS AND CLOUD
COVER. OVERALL...IT LOOKS LIKE AT LEAST NW/W OK WILL EXPERIENCE
ANOTHER FREEZE. OTHER LOCATIONS WILL DROP INTO THE LOW TO MID 30S.
LIKELY POPS FOR EASTERN OK WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST THROUGH FRI
MORNING AS THE CUTOFF LOW SLOWLY MOVES INTO THE MIDWEST. AS ALWAYS
WITH CUTOFF LOWS...ITS STILL UNCLEAR HOW FAST IT WILL PROGRESS SO
IT IS POSSIBLE AT LEAST SCHC POPS COULD LINGER THROUGH MOST OF FRI
ACROSS THE NE/E. CONFIDENCE IS FAIRLY HIGH THOUGH THAT BELOW AVG
TEMPS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS WEEKEND.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
OKLAHOMA CITY OK  62  77  40  44 /   0  30  60  60
HOBART OK         62  74  39  44 /  10  40  70  50
WICHITA FALLS TX  64  84  44  48 /  10  30  40  40
GAGE OK           56  62  34  47 /  10  20  80  40
PONCA CITY OK     61  74  39  42 /  10  40  60  80
DURANT OK         62  83  48  53 /   0  10  30  20

&&

.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...NONE.
TX...NONE.
&&

17/26
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 30, 6:51 PM CST, 5 hours 9 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
751 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013

OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-011000-
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-
751 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT...

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
NO THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT.

DISCUSSION...
A STRONG CAP...WARM LAYER OF AIR ALOFT...WILL PREVENT THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT TONIGHT.

PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CDT WEDNESDAY MAY 1.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
              NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...10 PERCENT.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE.

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

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL INCREASE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. STRONG TO
SEVERE STORMS APPEAR POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS
PARTS OF SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHERN TEXAS. LARGE HAIL AND
STRONG WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARD WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
VERY STRONG NORTH WINDS ARE EXPECTED IN WESTERN OKLAHOMA WEDNESDAY
THROUGH THURSDAY BEHIND THE COLD FRONT.

THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AT
5 AM WEDNESDAY.

MBS

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, Archer

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

D3 (extreme) drought continued with persistent dry conditions.

Drought, Baylor

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

D4 (exceptional) drought continued with persistent dry conditions.

Drought, Clay

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

D3 (extreme) drought continued with persistent dry conditions.

Drought, Foard

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

D3 (extreme) drought continued with persistent dry conditions.

Drought, Hardeman

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

D3 (extreme) drought continued with persistent dry conditions.

Drought, Knox

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

D4 (exceptional) drought continued with persistent dry conditions.

Drought, Wichita

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

D3 (extreme) drought continued with persistent dry conditions.

Drought, Wilbarger

When
May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Wilbarger forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
34.081, -99.241 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

D4 (exceptional) drought continued with persistent dry conditions.

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 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 2013

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: 445379, 445380, 445381, 445382, 445384, 445386, 445387, 445389.