Drought in Zapata, Texas

Drought March 17, 2026 – March 23, 2026 · Zapata, Texas

What the National Weather Service wrote

Exceptional (D4) Drought expanded to cover the eastern half of Zapata County on March 17, while Extreme (D3) conditions continued over a sliver of west-central and southwest Zapata. A slightly larger area of Severe (D2) was noted in northwest Zapata, a holdover from some rainfall on March 7th that originally expanded the coverage there on the 10th.

The wider storm

Continued rain-free, warm to hot, low humidity, and occasional breezy to windy conditions allowed drought to worsen across many areas of the southern tip of Texas in mid to late March. Extreme (D3, level 3 of 4) to Exceptional (D4, level 4 of 4) continued to spread to the east and west across the region, and farmers began to really feel the impacts for early season crop planting, while ranchers continued to cull cattle herds.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1327550. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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