Persistent lack of rainfall, combined with record to near record heat in May and frequently breezy conditions, led to severe drought conditions that began in Willacy and northern Cameron County on the 5th but would spread to all of Cameron, much of Kenedy, and portions of Brooks and Hidalgo County through June 18th. The drought would be temporarily erased by widespread rainfall of 10 inches or…
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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.
The episode as NWS BRO wrote it up.
Persistent lack of rainfall, combined with record to near record heat in May and frequently breezy conditions, led to severe drought conditions that began in Willacy and northern Cameron County on the 5th but would spread to all of Cameron, much of Kenedy, and portions of Brooks and Hidalgo County through June 18th. The drought would be temporarily erased by widespread rainfall of 10 inches or more in many of these areas between June 19th and 22nd.
The combination of a top ten warmest spring with limited rainfall until the Great June Flood resulted in a significant loss and lowered production of many unirrigated row crops, which failed to receive the necessary rainfall to counteract the hot conditions between March and mid June.
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 Jun 4, 5:47 PM CST, 6 hours 13 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Brownsville TX 647 PM CDT Mon Jun 4 2018 .DISCUSSION...Updated for latest aviation discussion below. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions should continue through the next 24 hours with some upper-level cirrus clouds moving overhead tonight and tomorrow. A few lower cumulus clouds will be possible Tuesday, but dry air will limit coverage even if a seabreeze develops. Pressure gradient will be a tad stronger during the day, so SSE to SE winds will be the main aviation issue through the afternoon. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 254 PM CDT Mon Jun 4 2018/ SHORT TERM (Tonight through Tuesday Night):Another hot day across Deep South Texas out there. A few patches of CU have developed and high cirrus continues to stream in from the northwest. Surface analysis shows a cold frontal boundary generally along the I10 corridor. The front is rather passive and should make very little in the way of southern progression through the state before it dissipates in a few days. With continued dry westerly/northwesterly flow aloft, expect near zero pops through this period. Same story as last week, the H5 heat bubble (ridge) will remain across north central Mexico and western TX through the short term. This will keep temperatures hot, especially across the interior. With strong surface heating, dry air and some gustier winds will mix down each afternoon. Winds will be generally around or less than 20kt (highest being in the lower RGV and right along the coast). This will keep heat headlines from entering the picture as heat index values should remain below thresholds. LONG TERM (Wednesday through Monday):Latest model package shows little change in the future position of the 500mb ridge axis centered over Northern Mexico and West Texas. WPC 500mb forecast and model consensus are in good agreement with the placement and strength of the ridge during the day 3-7 period. As for the inverted trough expected to pinch off from mid level trough over the SE U.S. Model consensus now suggest the elongated trough to remain over the NE/Central Gulf through Saturday slowly filling in late in the weekend. This current model solutions give more confidence in maintaining above normal temperatures and lower confidence in increasing rain chances. Have cutback on pops with Saturday indicated the best day any possibility of an isolated sea breeze shower or thunderstorm. ECMWF remains the most bullish (and likely an outlier)on pops and is skewing the Superblend spreading rain chances much farther west than any model. Overall, persistence to be the best forecast with above normal temperatures and rainfree conditions for much of the long term. MARINE:(Tonight through Tuesday Night) Winds have increased over the Laguna Madre and very close to the coastline this afternoon. Some gusts have been up to 18kts from time to time across the Laguna, however, these have been rather infrequent. Given the very limited areal coverage of the stronger winds, wind wave response has been very benign. This is forecast to change a bit overnight as winds will gradually increase 0-60nm to cautionary thresholds for small craft. Generally less than 20kts is expected with some slight improvement around dawn. As mixing begins with strongest heating closer to the coast, additional gusty winds can be expected over the Laguna and near shore waters on Tuesday. Again, cautionary wording for wind will be possible. Like tonight, winds will subside closer to dawn (earlier for the Laguna). Wave heights should remain generally around 3-5 feet Tuesday into Tuesday night. Wednesday through Saturday...Weak high pressure over the Eastern Gulf Wednesday and Thursday strenghtens slightly Friday and Saturday with the passage of mid level trough over the SE U.S. This should result in a light to moderate southeast wind and slight seas early in the forecast period with a slight increase in winds and seas at the end of the workweek into the weekend. Small craft advisories are not expected however, exercise caution conditons are possible. && .BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. GM...None. && This product is also available on the web at: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RGV 65
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Brownsville TX 352 PM CDT Mon Jun 4 2018 TXZ248>257-351-353-052100- Zapata-Jim Hogg-Brooks-Inland Kenedy-Starr-Southern Hidalgo- Inland Willacy-Inland Cameron-Coastal Willacy-Coastal Cameron- Coastal Kenedy-Northern Hidalgo- 352 PM CDT Mon Jun 4 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Deep South Texas. .DAY ONE...Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Heat index values of 104 to 110 degrees are expected during the late morning through late afternoon hours of Tuesday through Friday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. GMZ130-132-135-150-155-170-175-052100- 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- 352 PM CDT Mon Jun 4 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of The Gulf of Mexico and The Laguna Madre. .DAY ONE...Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions developed in northeast Brooks County by June 5th, and expanded to all the eastern third of Brooks County on June 12th. Initial rains leading into the Great June Flood improved conditions to Moderate (D1) levels before the drought monitor update on June 19th.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions developed in southeast Kennedy County by June 5th, and expanded to all but the northern tip of the county on June 12th. D2 conditions continued until the week of June 18th, when 6 to 18 inches of rain fell and turned rainfall deficits into long term rainfall surpluses. Until then, there was an unknown level of stress on livestock on the King Ranch and other Kenedy County ranches due to the harsh conditions.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions developed in southeast Kennedy County by June 5th, and expanded to all but the northern tip of the county on June 12th. D2 conditions continued until the week of June 18th, when 6 to 18 inches of rain fell and turned rainfall deficits into long term rainfall surpluses. Until then, there was an unknown level of stress on livestock on the King Ranch and other Kenedy County ranches due to the harsh conditions.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions developed in Willacy County by June 5th, and continued until the week of June 18th, when 6 to 14 inches of rain fell and turned rainfall deficits into long term rainfall surpluses. Until then, there were a number of lost dryland row crops in un-irrigated fields, and stress on livestock as well.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions developed in Coastal Willacy County by June 5th, and continued until the week of June 18th, when 10 to 14 inches of rain fell and turned rainfall deficits into long term rainfall surpluses.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions developed in northern Cameron County by June 5th, and continued until the week of June 18th, when 6 to 18 inches of rain fell and turned rainfall deficits into long term rainfall surpluses. An unknown number of dry land row crops sustained production loss or damage due to prolonged dry and above to much above average conditions between March and mid June.
Severe (D2) Drought conditions developed in northeastern Cameron County by June 5th, and continued until the week of June 18th, when 5 to 12 inches of rain fell and turned rainfall deficits into long term rainfall surpluses. An unknown number of dry land row crops sustained production loss or damage due to prolonged dry and above to much above average conditions between March and mid June.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, June 2018
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: 771120, 771122, 771123, 771125, 771127, 771129, 771130.