Drought in Wheeler, Texas

With almost no precipitation falling over the course of October, areas of Moderate Drought (D1) spread west across Lipscomb and Hemphill Counties. The small areas of Severe Drought (D2) that showed up in September had grown over the course of October as well. By months end almost the whole southeastern half of Lipscomb and whole northeastern half of Hemphill were in D2. With no rain during the month the deficit grew by 1 to 2.

October 2024 was the hottest October on record across the TX Panhandle. These hot temperatures, some of which were daily record highs, along with near zero precipitation across an already dry region exacerbated overall drought conditions. Especially across the southern and eastern TX Panhandle. Overall rainfall deficits grew by 1.5 to 2.