Drought in Cherokee, Texas

An extended period of below normal rainfall coupled with much above normal temperatures from Fall 2025 into Winter 2026 led to the continuation of severe (D2) drought conditions from the U.S. Drought Monitor across portions of East Texas through roughly the first half of March. Rainfall amounts during March only averaged between 2-4 inches, which was a continuation of below normal rainfall for the month. Coupled with the consistently below normal rain observed since Fall 2025, considerable hardships from area agricultural producers continued, as pastures had become dormant early, forcing farmers to provide hay and other supplemental feed much earlier than normal, as well as water as multiple ponds had dried up. An increase in wildfires also persisted, with the above normal temperatures continuing the drying of fuels. Streamflow from area creeks and bayous also fell below to much below normal as well. However, widespread wetting rains of 1-3+ inches fell across much of Deep East Texas on March 11th, resulting in improvement to moderate drought (D1) in the March 19th issuance of the U.S. Drought Monitor.