Drought in Lubbock, Texas

Drought conditions continued to worsen during the month of April with very limited rainfall. Exceptional drought (D4) conditions have greatly expanded over a majority of the South Plains, Rolling Plains, and the extreme southern Texas Panhandle. Elsewhere, extreme drought (D3) conditions were present with only a few slivers of severe drought (D2) conditions remaining over the southern South Plains.

Rainfall events in April were few and far between for nearly the entire region. One of these few events occurred on the 20th and did bring significant rainfall to a few fortunate areas. On the 20th, parts of Childress County received as much as 3.25 of rainfall from thunderstorms. Through the end of April, Lubbock had received only 0.90 of rainfall on the year. Most areas have received only about 25% of normal rainfall to date. Temperatures went through wild swings again in April. By the end of the month, average temperatures were near normal. Keetch-Byram Drought Index values were also indicative of a worsening drought. Values between 500 and 600 were observed area wide with a few small areas observing values between 600 and 700.

Despite an exceptional drought with little rainfall and several high wind events, there were no large wildfires. Although these conditions usually result in large wildfires, the low fuel load has prevented many wildfires from initiating. Agricultural activities were pronounced with drought conditions further worsening farming and ranching. Not only did the lack of rainfall harm crops but high winds also damaged crops.

Economic losses due to drought through April since the drought began were estimated near $3 billion.