Drought — Starr, Texas

2023-09-05 to 2023-09-30 · Starr, Texas

Event narrative

Extreme (D3) Drought replaced Severe (D2) Drought for all but the northeast fifth of Starr County beginning on September 5th, continuing through the end of the month. Record heat and low rainfall in Rio Grande City were contributors. There were impacts on livestock in the county, but dollar damages/losses were unknown as of this writing in late November.

Wider weather episode

A record hot astronomical summer (June 21 through September 23) combined with a record hot September, combined with below average rainfall during the wettest month of the calendar year, allowed Severe (D2) Drought to worsen to Extreme (D3) Drought across the mid/upper Rio Grande Valley in early September. Lack of sufficient rainfall for the remainder of the month allowed these conditions to remain into October.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1142739. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.