Drought — Oldham, Texas

2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Oldham, Texas

Event narrative

The southwest corner of Oldham County and the western quarter to a third of Deaf Smith County started and ended the month of November in Severe Drought (D2) conditions as well as adjacent areas in New Mexico. The rest of these two counties started and ended the month in Moderate Drought (D1). Much of this area had a 2 to 6 inch rainfall deficit dating back 120 days from November 30th.

Wider weather episode

Lack of rainfall from mid summer through November left soil moisture very low. This did not bode well for the winter wheat crop that was planted in October. It also led to very dry vegetation that was susceptible to wildfires. At least one fire burned more than 500 acres during the month of November.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1149444. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.