Drought — Southern Hidalgo County, Texas

2023-10-17 to 2023-10-31 · Southern Hidalgo County, Texas

Event narrative

The combination of pockets of heavy rainfall (0.5 to 1 inch) during the afternoon of October 5th, along with a more widespread area of 0.75 to 1 from late October 10 through early October 11, allowed drought improvement from D3 (Extreme) to D2 (Severe) across much of southern Hidalgo County, mainly along/south of the IH-2 corridor, beginning on October 17th and continuing through month's end.

Wider weather episode

The combination of residual soil moisture increases from afternoon/evening thunderstorms on October 5th, with a steadier rain event from late October 10th through early October 11th, further reduced the area of Severe (D2) Drought across the Rio Grande Valley and Deep South Texas ranchlands. Locations that missed the heaviest rains on the 5th held onto the Severe Conditions through the end of the month.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1145199. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.