Drought, Harrison
- When
- February 12, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Harrison forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 32.548, -94.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Texas, February 12 to 28, 2026
S. Drought Monitor across much of Harrison and Sabine Counties in East Texas by the second week of February, which persisted through the end of the month.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 SHV wrote it up.
Persistently dry conditions coupled with much above normal temperatures from Fall 2025 into Winter 2026 led to the redevelopment of severe (D2) drought conditions from the U.S. Drought Monitor across much of Harrison and Sabine Counties in East Texas by the second week of February, which persisted through the end of the month. Rainfall amounts during February only tallied to 1.00-2.00 inches, which was only half or less the normal amount of rainfall for the month. Coupled with the consistently below normal rain observed since Fall 2025, considerable hardships from area agricultural producers continued, as pastures had become dormant early, forcing farmers to provide hay and other supplemental feed much earlier than normal, as well as water as multiple ponds had dried up. An increase in wildfires also persisted, with the above normal temperatures continuing the drying of fuels. Streamflow from area creeks and bayous also fell below to much below normal as well.
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 Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 11, 11:32 PM CST, 28 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Issued at 246 PM CST Wed Feb 11 2026
- Above-normal temperatures will continue through the rest of the week.
- Thunderstorms, including some severe thunderstorms could develop by Valentine's Day Saturday afternoon.
- Showers and thunderstorms that do form this week will deliver enough moisture for a heavy rain threat (>40% chance of 1.5 in. of rain north of I-20).
Area forecast discussion, Feb 11, 11:32 PM CST, 28 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Shreveport LA 1132 PM CST Wed Feb 11 2026 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Issued at 246 PM CST Wed Feb 11 2026 - Above-normal temperatures will continue through the rest of the week. - Thunderstorms, including some severe thunderstorms could develop by Valentine's Day Saturday afternoon. - Showers and thunderstorms that do form this week will deliver enough moisture for a heavy rain threat (>40% chance of 1.5 in. of rain north of I-20). && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 246 PM CST Wed Feb 11 2026 Ridging (and warm, uneventful weather) will remain in place across the Four State Region through the rest of the week, with the next weather producer (longwave trough) about 1000 miles off the coast of California. The base of this trough will wrap around to dig across the Baja California coastline and eject into West Texas by Friday afternoon. As it does so, surface winds will gradually return from the south during the day on Friday. With the duration of moisture advection below 48 hours, the ingredients for a more bonafide severe weather environment remain somewhat out of reach. Mid-level lapse rates will remain mostly below -8C/km, while SFC-1km shear around 30-40kts (the most conducive/favorably high amount for this round of storms). That said, ingredients for heavy rain are more favorable in the same window with precipitable water amounts above 1.0-1.5 inches through Saturday night. Efficient rainfall is likely to produce a >40% chance of 1.5 in. of rain north of I-20 that ends by Sunday afternoon. Post-frontal temperatures will remain above-normal into the middle of next week. /16/ && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1125 PM CST Wed Feb 11 2026 VFR conditions currently prevailing at all terminals but there is an area of MVFR ceilings noted across Central and East Central Louisiana. IR Imagery showing this moisture moving slowly westward and cannot rule out some of these ceilings moving into the LFK terminal near or shortly after sunrise. Kept this cloud cover south of the I-20 Terminals overnight and through the day Thursday. Look for high thin clouds to increase however across our airspace during the day Thursday. Look for winds to gradually veer around to the east and southeast with speeds generally under 10kts through the forecast period. 13 && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Issued at 1221 AM CST Wed Feb 11 2026 Spotter activation is not expected through Friday. /19/ && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SHV 47 72 52 78 / 0 0 0 10 MLU 45 70 50 75 / 0 0 0 10 DEQ 38 67 44 70 / 0 0 0 30 TXK 43 70 49 74 / 0 0 0 20 ELD 39 68 46 73 / 0 0 0 10 TYR 49 74 54 78 / 0 0 0 10 GGG 47 73 51 78 / 0 0 0 10 LFK 52 76 55 78 / 0 0 0 10 && .SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...None. LA...None. OK...None. TX...None. && DISCUSSION...16 AVIATION...13
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Sabine
- When
- February 12, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Sabine forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 31.343, -93.852 (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
More
Every storm in Texas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, February 2026
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: 1319447, 1319448.