Texas, 2023

Drought in Texas, July 1 to 31, 2023

July 1 to 31, 2023 · NWS EWX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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
11

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.

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

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 Jun 30, 10:55 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 30, 10:55 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
1155 PM CDT Fri Jun 30 2023

...New AVIATION...

.SHORT TERM...
(Tonight through Saturday night)
Issued at 231 PM CDT Fri Jun 30 2023

Visible imagery shows partly cloudy skies across all of South
Central Texas early this afternoon. There are also high clouds
coming into our area from northeast Mexico especially over the Rio
Grande and southern Edwards Plateau with a southwest flow aloft in
place. Today's high temperatures to reach the mid to upper 90s
across the Hill Country and upper 90s to 102 degrees along and east
of Interstate 35. The hottest temperatures could be reached across
the southern Rio Grande, where highs are expected to range from 100
to 103 degrees. Even though is a bit cooler than previous days for
the most parts, elevated surface moisture makes heat index values
feel in the 108 to 110 especially across the coastal plains.
Therefore, a Heat Advisory is in effect through 7 PM this evening
for the coastal plains. Once thing that can help through late this
evening is the breezy and gusty conditions.

More clouds are expected to develop late tonight into Saturday
morning for mostly to cloudy skies through the period. Wind speeds
finally come down to 12 mph or less after midnight tonight while
flow stays from the southeast and south. Overnight lows are forecast
to range from the low 70s across the Hill Country to upper 70s
across the Rio Grande.

Saturday starts cloudy over most areas, however, clouds begin to
break mid to late morning along and east of Interstate 35.
Saturday's highs are expected to climb into the mid to upper 90s
over most locations and from 100 to 106 degrees across the southern
part of the Rio Grande. Dewpoint temperatures are forecast to stay
at today's level and even a degree to two lower. Therefore, heat
headlines are not anticipated for Saturday based on product's
criteria. However, is going to be hot with elevated heat index
values of 103 to 107 along and east of Intestate 35 and up to 108
for some spots across the southern Rio Grande.

For the second part of the afternoon and evening, showers and
thunderstorm activity is forecast to develop along and east of a
dryline pushing across west Texas. Some of this activity is expected
to reach part of the Rio Grande and southern Edwards Plateau on
Saturday evening and during the overnight period. A few strong to
marginally severe could reach the western part of Val Verde County
in the evening with main hazards being large hail and damaging winds.

The eastern two-thirds of South Central Texas is expected to stay
dry on Saturday night with overnight lows in the 70s.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Sunday through Friday)
Issued at 231 PM CDT Fri Jun 30 2023

A weakness in the upper level pattern will remain over Texas through
the long term forecast, splitting an upper level ridge centered across
the Southwest CONUS and northwest Mexico and the flat sub-tropical
ridge across the northeast Gulf of Mexico and Florida. The weak
upper level trough axis is forecast to remain just northwest of the
area Sunday-Tuesday, slide overhead Tuesday night and Wednesday,
and center near the Texas coast Thursday and Friday.

Initially convective chances will be fairly sparse Sunday and
Monday. However, models do indicate precipitable water content
increasing Tuesday through Friday over the area, and combined with
the weakness aloft could help to produce isolated to widely scattered
showers and storms, mainly diurnally driven. The only thing to
possibly counter these chances is the arrival of some light to
moderate amounts of Saharan Dust indicated to occur on Wednesday.

Air temperatures are forecast to back off slightly over the weekend
and early next week, however with the increase in low level moisture
mid to late week heat index values could become elevated again.

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1154 PM CDT Fri Jun 30 2023

MVFR ceilings are building in across South-Central Texas, first
expected to reach SAT and SSF near 06Z. AUS and DRT are forecast to
see these low clouds closer to 11Z, with all sites back to VFR mid
to late morning. South to southeast winds should continue to
decrease overnight with winds generally below 12 knots after 18Z at
terminals.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Austin Camp Mabry             100  77 100  77 /   0   0   0   0
Austin Bergstrom Intl Airport  98  75  98  76 /   0   0   0   0
New Braunfels Muni Airport     99  75  98  76 /   0   0   0   0
Burnet Muni Airport            98  74  98  76 /   0   0   0  10
Del Rio Intl Airport          101  80  99  79 /   0   0  10  20
Georgetown Muni Airport        99  75  98  76 /   0   0   0   0
Hondo Muni Airport             98  76  98  75 /   0   0   0  10
San Marcos Muni Airport        98  75  98  75 /   0   0   0   0
La Grange - Fayette Regional   97  77  98  77 /   0   0   0   0
San Antonio Intl Airport       98  77  99  76 /   0   0   0   0
Stinson Muni Airport           99  77 100  77 /   0   0   0   0

&&

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

Short-Term...27
Long-Term...05
Aviation...27
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 30, 6:36 PM CST, 5 hours 24 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
736 PM CDT Fri Jun 30 2023

TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-020045-
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-
736 PM CDT Fri Jun 30 2023

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

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

Elevated heat indices will remain possible over southern portions
of South Central Texas through around 10 PM CDT. No other
hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday.

Elevated heat index values are forecast across the Coastal Plains
over the weekend and early next week, expanding into the I-35
corridor and Rio Grande mid to late next week. Continue to take
precautions against heat exhaustion and heat stroke, including
staying hydrated with water and taking breaks out of the sun in a
cooler area.

No other 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

11 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Bandera

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Blanco

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Comal

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Gillespie

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Hays

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

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Kendall

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Kerr

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Medina

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Real

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Llano

When
July 1, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at the end of the month.

Drought, Burnet

When
July 4, 12:00 AM CST to July 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)

Dry weather continued in July. Most of South Central Texas had less than normal rainfall with the Hill Country and I-35 corridor less than 25% of normal. The lack of rain made the drought worse across the region. Gillespie and Kerr Counties went from Extreme (D3) drought to Exceptional (D4) drought. Bandera, Burnet, Comal, Hays, and Llano went from Severe (D2) to D3. Travis and Williamson went from less than D2 to D3. Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, and Uvalde went from less than D2 to D2. All other counties were unchanged: Kendall D4, Blanco D3, and Medina and Real D2. Area reservoirs continued to drop. Medina Lake fell 1.0 foot and was 84.7 feet below normal conservation pool level, Lake Buchanan was down 3.3 feet to 22.2 feet below normal, Lake Travis lost 1.9 feet to 45.7 feet below normal, and Canyon Lake was down 1.6 feet to 14.8 feet below normal. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 5.4 feet to 29.3 feet below normal. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. Some of the larger services had the following: Fredericksburg, Llano, and Georgetown Stage 3, San Antonio, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Kerrville Stage 2, Austin Stage 1. At the end of the month, the 7-day average streamflow was much below normal (<10%) on the Medina River, much below normal on the upper Guadalupe River, much below normal on the Medina River, normal (25%-75%) to below (10%-24%) normal on the San Antonio River, and below to much below on the Colorado River. Of the counties in D2 or worse drought Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson had outdoor burn bans in effect at 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

More

Every storm in Texas in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 2023

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: 1121701, 1121706, 1121707, 1121708, 1121709, 1121710, 1121711, 1121712, 1121713, 1121716, 1121717.