Drought — Randall County, Texas

2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Randall County, Texas

Event narrative

Randall County started the month with the western and northern portions in extreme (D3) drought conditions with the rest of the central to southeastern areas in severe (D2) drought. After the first week the entire area in severe drought degraded into extreme drought. The far northeastern corner even slipped into exceptional (D4) drought. A storm system moved through the 21st to the 22nd bringing some much needed moisture. The northeastern half received the most rain, anywhere from 0.5 to 1 of precipitation. All in all the entire county was able to improve one category into severe (D2) drought. Despite the relief the county remained in a 4 to 6 deficit dating back 365 days.

Wider weather episode

Dry conditions continued since August of 2021 with only a few isolated events bringing minimal precipitation to the combined Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. Soil moisture remained short to very short with supplemental feeding required for cattle with bare pastures. Other concerns for ranchers was the threat of wildfires. Tillage and winter wheat needed irrigation in order to thrive. These drought conditions contributed to multiple wildfires when combined with high wind days and low relative humidity. Across the combined Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, a total of 51082 acres were burned with 35 structures and 11 vehicles lost due to the fires.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1014217. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.