Drought in Texas, October 13 to 31, 2020

Name: Drought in Texas, October 13 to 31, 2020
Start: 2020-10-13T00:00
End: 2020-10-31T23:59
Location: Texas

October 13 to 31, 2020 · NWS AMA · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 3

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 AMA wrote it up.

Areas across the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles saw drought conditions worsening going into the month of October as September was very dry. These conditions continued to degrade across the combined Panhandles going into late October with no new rainfall during the first three weeks of the month. Soil conditions were very poor to poor. Some farmers were waiting for some rain to plant winter wheat while others planted hoping for the moisture to come eventually. The Panhandles needed some soil moisture badly in order for winter crops to emerge and grow. The saving grace for these crops were a late month early winter event that provided moisture in the form of sleet, freezing rain, and snow. This late month event did help some areas see a one category improvement in the US Drought Monitor by the end of the month. Ranchers were still being impacted by very poor to poor pasture and rangeland conditions.

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 12, 11:28 PM CST, 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 12, 11:28 PM CST, 32 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 12, 1:17 PM CST, 10 hours 43 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Hemphill

When: October 13, 12:00 AM CST to October 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hemphill forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 35.838, -100.270 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hemphill County has been in a 4 to 12 inch deficit for rainfall this year and was in at least moderate drought (D1) for a much of the county going into October. By the 13th of the month 90 percent of the county went from being classified as moderate drought to being in severe drought (D2). An early winter storm system hit the Panhandles on 26th through the 29th, improving the entire area of D2 back to D1.

Drought, Oldham

When: October 13, 12:00 AM CST to October 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Oldham forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 35.405, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Oldham County had seen quite the improvement in drought late summer into early fall, with almost all of the county dropping and staying in moderate drought (D1) at the most. Some of the western parts of the county had slipped into Severe Drought (D2) by the 13th. In fact, a small portion in the far southwest portion of the county slipped into extreme drought (D3). This drought classification did not stay long, as an early winter storm provided some much needed ground moisture. By the 31st most of the county saw at least one categorical improvement in drought status.

Drought, Lipscomb

When: October 13, 12:00 AM CST to October 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lipscomb forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 36.278, -100.273 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Like much of the Texas Panhandle, Lipscomb County did not see any precipitation for several weeks since the beginning of September. The first few weeks of October were dry which led to a degradation in drought status on October 13th. Much of Lipscomb was seeing severe drought (D2) conditions across the vast majority of the county after the 13th. An early winter storm late in the month improved conditions back to a moderate drought (D1) before the end of the month.

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 2020 Every state in 2020 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, October 2020

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: 925504, 925505, 925506.