Drought in Texas, March 1 to 31, 2022

Name: Drought in Texas, March 1 to 31, 2022
Start: 2022-03-01T00:00
End: 2022-03-31T23:59
Location: Texas

March 1 to 31, 2022 · 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.

Nearly all of South Central Texas had below normal precipitation during the month and the area west of a line from Burnet to San Antonio and Pleasanton had less than 25% of normal. This worsened the drought across the region. Dimmit County ended the month in Exceptional (D4) drought category. Atascosa, Bandera, Blanco, Burnet, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, Llano, Maverick, Medina, Real, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Zavala Counties moved into Extreme (D3) drought. Bexar, Comal, De Witt, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, and Wilson entered Severe (D2) drought. Fredericksburg was in Stage 3 water restrictions and San Antonio and New Braunfels were in Stage 1. The Edwards Aquifer was 15.4 feet below normal at the end of the month. Area reservoirs were down with Lake Amistad 51.3 feet below conservation pool level and Medina Lake 51.6 feet below. The only counties in D2 or worse drought without a burn ban in effect at the end of the month were Bexar, Edwards, and Kerr.

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 Feb 28, 10:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 10:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
1045 PM CST Mon Feb 28 2022

.AVIATION (06Z TAFs)...
VFR conditions tonight through Tuesday with periods of high cirrus.
Winds SE wind around 5KT tonight along the Rio Grande and calm to
variable less than 5KT elsewhere. SE winds increasing along the Rio
Grande after 16Z to 8-12KT with gusts 15-18KT, and S to SE winds
5-10KT developing elsewhere after 16Z.

&&

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 256 PM CST Mon Feb 28 2022/

SHORT TERM (Tonight through Tuesday Night)...
19Z surface observations indicate that a diffuse, but progressive
surface pressure ridge continues to march across the area. Snaking
northeast to southwest along a line running from approximately La
Grange - Shiner - Pleasanton, the ridge axis should be out of the
area by early this evening as its parent upper level ridge shifts
into the lower Mississippi Valley. Expect chilly overnight lows once
more tonight, though the light southerly flow behind the vacating
high pressure should keep most locations slightly milder than last
night. One more freeze will be possible across Hill Country and low-
lying areas east of I-35/I-37, and it is recommended that
individuals in these areas protect the four P's - people, pets,
plants, and pipes - overnight tonight.

With light, southerly winds in place, temperatures should continue
to moderate tomorrow. A weak subtropical jet axis and affiliated
streak of Pacific moisture will be crossing the area, leading to
scattered cloud coverage in the middle and upper levels. Most
noticeable across the north, this should keep Hill Country and
Edwards Plateau communities a touch cooler tomorrow afternoon.
Current forecast is for highs in the upper 60s/low 70s in these
locations. Low to mid 70s are anticipated across the south and west,
where more breaks in the cloud deck will be prevalent. Milder lows
in the upper 30s/low 40s are expected tomorrow night.

LONG TERM (Wednesday through Monday)...
Surface high pressure begins to weaken and move to the east of our
region on Wednesday. This will allow for an increase in southerly
flow, leading to a warming trend across all areas. The warming trend
continues into the mid to late week period and as the southerly flow
in the low-levels increases, we can expect a return of late night
into morning low clouds from the Hill Country eastward into the I-35
and Highway 77 corridors. Daytime highs will be in the 70s to lower
80s along with overnight lows in the lower 50s to lower 60s for
Wednesday and Thursday. A weak upper level disturbance will pass to
the north of the region on Thursday. With most of the lift from this
feature remaining to our north, we will keep the forecast dry at this
time.

The warming trend continues into the upcoming weekend as southwest
flow aloft increases in advance of an upper low developing over the
desert southwest. Weekend highs will be in the mid 70s to near 90
degrees for most areas, along with mild overnight lows in the mid 50s
to mid 60s. We could see enough moisture along with daytime heating
to help a few showers develop along the Highway 77 corridor Saturday
afternoon. A dryline will sharpen and approach the southern Edwards
Plateau and western Hill Country on Sunday. This will help sharpen
the moisture gradient across the region and could generate a few
early morning showers from the Hill Country eastward on Sunday. We
could also see a few thunderstorms develop Sunday afternoon out east
along the Highway 77 corridor. At this time, we prefer to keep rain
chances fairly low as the stronger forcing for ascent is expected to
remain well to our north. A cold front is then expected to move
through either late Sunday night or early Monday morning, bringing
another brief opportunity for rainfall. At this time rain chances
appear favored from the Hill Country eastward into portions of the
I-35 corridor. This front will be more of a Pacific nature, thus a
significant cool-down behind the front is not yet anticipated on
Monday.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Austin Camp Mabry              36  71  44  71  45 /   0   0   0   0   0
Austin Bergstrom Intl Airport  31  69  39  72  42 /   0   0   0   0   0
New Braunfels Muni Airport     34  70  40  73  44 /   0   0   0   0   0
Burnet Muni Airport            34  70  42  73  43 /   0   0   0   0   0
Del Rio Intl Airport           40  74  45  76  50 /   0   0   0   0   0
Georgetown Muni Airport        35  69  42  71  43 /   0   0   0   0   0
Hondo Muni Airport             33  73  38  75  44 /   0   0   0   0   0
San Marcos Muni Airport        34  70  39  72  43 /   0   0   0   0   0
La Grange - Fayette Regional   34  70  40  72  44 /   0   0   0   0   0
San Antonio Intl Airport       37  71  42  72  46 /   0   0   0   0   0
Stinson Muni Airport           36  72  42  75  48 /   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.EWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

Short-Term/Aviation...76
Long-Term...Morris

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 28, 3:03 AM CST, 20 hours 57 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
303 AM CST Mon Feb 28 2022

TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-010915-
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-
303 AM CST Mon Feb 28 2022

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for South-Central Texas..

.DAY ONE...Today And 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 is not anticipated.

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, Atascosa

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Atascosa forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 28.894, -98.527 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Bandera

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

Drought, Bexar

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Bexar forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 29.449, -98.520 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Blanco

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

Drought, Burnet

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

Drought, Comal

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

Drought, De Witt

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

Drought, Dimmit

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Dimmit forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 28.423, -99.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Edwards

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

Drought, Frio

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Frio forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 28.868, -99.108 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gillespie

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

Drought, Gonzales

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

Drought, Guadalupe

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

Drought, Karnes

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

Drought, Kendall

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

Drought, Kerr

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

Drought, Kinney

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

Drought, Llano

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

Drought, Maverick

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Maverick forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 28.743, -100.314 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Medina

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Medina forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 29.356, -99.110 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Real

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

Drought, Uvalde

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

Drought, Val Verde

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

Drought, Wilson

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Wilson forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 29.174, -98.087 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Zavala

When: March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Zavala forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 28.866, -99.761 (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 2022 Every state in 2022 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, March 2022

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: 1013465, 1013466, 1013467, 1013468, 1013469, 1013470, 1013471, 1013472, 1013473, 1013474, 1013475, 1013476, 1013477, 1013478, 1013479, 1013480, 1013481, 1013482, 1013483, 1013484, 1013485, 1013486, 1013487, 1013488, 1013489.