Drought, Red River
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Red River forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 33.621, -95.050 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme (D3) and Severe (D2) drought continued across much of East Texas throughout the month of May, as below normal rainfall remained a common theme across the area since early Fall 2025. May monthly rainfall totals ranged from 2-5 inches, with isolated higher amounts across Northeast Texas, which remained near to 50% of their normal monthly rainfall.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 SHV wrote it up.
Extreme (D3) and Severe (D2) drought continued across much of East Texas throughout the month of May, as below normal rainfall remained a common theme across the area since early Fall 2025. May monthly rainfall totals ranged from 2-5 inches, with isolated higher amounts across Northeast Texas, which remained near to 50% of their normal monthly rainfall. Even with the rains, little runoff was produced given the long term dryness and thus, ag producers continued to struggle with delayed and little greenup, requiring feed to be provided to their livestock, much below normal to dry stock pond levels and thus, water had to be brought in, a culling of their cattle herds, as well as much below normal streamflow across the area rivers, bayous, and creeks.
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 Apr 30, 11:56 PM CST, 4 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Shreveport LA 1256 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Issued at 1236 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026 - Showers will continue throughout the day today and overnight, coming to an end by daybreak Saturday. Accumulations of 1-3 inches are possible, and may lead to localized flash flooding hazards. - The weekend will be quiet, dry, and cooler than average, with lows in the 40s and highs in the 70s. - Next week will begin with a warming trend, with scattered storms returning by the middle of the week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1236 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026 The frontal boundary draped across the Gulf Coast will still be in place today, and will continue to channel lower level moisture into the ArkLaTex on west to east flow. Resulting showers will thus continue throughout the day Friday and much of the overnight hours, ending between midnight and daybreak Saturday morning. Total accumulations look to range from less than half an inch along and north of I-30, to between 1 and 2 inches along the I-20 corridor, and greater than 2 inches south of I-20. The potential still exists for resulting flash flooding, particularly in urban areas affected by periods of locally heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, these periods of prolonged rainfall and the associated cloud cover will keep temperatures cool, only climbing into the 60s this afternoon. Overnight, lows will fall into the 50s with a few upper 40s possible north. By Saturday, a large area of upper level ridging and building surface high pressure advances into the deep south, finally kicking the stationary boundary into motion, and allowing afternoon highs to climb into the 70s across the ArkLaTex under clearing skies, a good 5-10 degrees below average. This cooler- than-normal spell will continue through the weekend, with lows in the mid to upper 40s expected Sunday morning, followed by highs in the upper 70s. A warm up to more seasonable highs in the 80s is expected to begin the new work week, with quiet weather continuing Monday before as slight chance of thunder returns to our northeastern zones Tuesday, becoming more widespread by the middle of the week as a series of weak disturbances attempt to emerge in the upper level flow, before conditions quiet down again by the tail end of this extended forecast period. /26/ && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1246 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026 For the 01/06Z TAF period, expect deteriorating flight conditions throughout the period as cigs/vsby continue to lower to MVFR/IFR with the onset of moderate to occasionally heavy rain along and south of the I-20 terminals. Farther north at KTXK and KELD, rain will be more sparse in coverage with TEMPO conditions to account for intermittent occurrence early this morning while the majority of convection will likely remain south of these two terminals for much of the day on Friday. However, cigs will still drop at these northern sites as well, just not quite as low with mainly low VFR to occasional MVFR cigs during the period. Otherwise, expect N/NE winds generally ranging between 5-10 kts with some gusts possible during Monday afternoon as heavier rain impacts most terminals. Convection should begin to taper off very late in the period with the exception of KMLU where it will likely persist through 02/06Z. /19/ && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Issued at 1236 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026 Spotter activation is not likely through tomorrow, but any reports of hazardous weather to the National Weather Service are appreciated. /26/ && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SHV 59 51 71 48 / 90 80 0 0 MLU 61 51 72 47 / 90 90 0 0 DEQ 66 46 72 43 / 30 20 0 0 TXK 63 50 73 48 / 50 40 0 0 ELD 62 47 71 44 / 60 60 0 0 TYR 58 50 71 50 / 90 60 0 0 GGG 58 49 71 48 / 90 70 0 0 LFK 60 50 72 48 / 100 80 0 0 && .SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...None. LA...None. OK...None. TX...None. && DISCUSSION...26 AVIATION...19
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 2026
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: 1340500, 1340501, 1340502, 1340503, 1340504, 1340505, 1340506, 1340507, 1340508, 1340509, 1340510, 1340511, 1340512, 1340513.