Drought in Lipscomb, Texas

Much of Hutchinson, Roberts, and Hemphill counties were in Exceptional Drought (D3) at the start of the month. Conversely much of Hansford, Ochiltree, and Lipscomb counties started the month in Severe Drought (D2). With a continually growing deficit in rainfall, the cluster of counties that included Hansford, Ochiltree, and the northwestern half of Lipscomb fell into D3. An area of Exceptional Drought (D4) developed over the southeastern half of Lipscomb, all of Hemphill, and the southeastern half of Roberts County. Areas that developed D4 had a 120 day rainfall deficit of 5 to 8 while the areas with D3 had a 4 to 5 deficit.

A very dry spring led to the development of Extreme (D3) to Exceptional (D4) drought in the combined Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. With an extra prolonged period of dryness and abnormally warm temperatures both in May and leading up to May, drought impacts were felt quite a bit. Not only were crops not surviving spring planting, but grasses remained abnormally dry and dormant for this time of year. This lead to extreme wildfire conditions as temperatures reached the upper 90s.