Drought Information Statement for South Central Texas Valid March 7, 2024 Issued By: NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX Contact Information: sr-ewx.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated April 4, 2024 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/ewx/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Drought intensity and Extent D3 Extreme Drought: Covers portions of the Hill Country and I-35 corridor Percent of Area: 7.18% D2 Severe Drought: Extends across the portions of the Hill Country and I-35 corridor Percent of Area: 12.62% No Drought or D0 Abnormally Dry Conditions: Extends across the portions of Rio Grande Plains, and Coastal Plains Percent of Area: 40.18% Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for south central Texas https://storage.googleapis.com/noaa-nidis-drought-gov-data/current-conditions/nws-dgt-images/nws-u.s.-drought-monitor-southern.png Recent Change in Drought Intensity Link to the latest 4-week change map for south central Texas Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: Portions of the southern Edwards Plateau No Change: Portions of the southern Edwards Plateau, I-35 Corridor, and Hill Country Drought Improved: Small portions of the I-35 corridor and Coastal Plains Precipitation Links to the latest Precipitation Accumulation and Percent of Normal over the past 30 days Over the past 30 days much of the area saw below normal rainfall. The area which saw near normal to slightly below normal rainfall was portions of the Hill Country, I-35 Corridor, and Coastal Plains. A swath of 25 percent or less normal rainfall extended eastwards from the Rio Grande Plains into the Coastal Plains generally along I-10. Temperature Summarize conditions/impacts here Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Streamflows across the service area saw decreased flows over the past 30 days. Portions of the lower Colorado, Cibolo, Blanco, and lower Guadalupe River basins have normal flows The remainder of river basins across the service area fall either below or much below normal See next page for more details. Agricultural Impacts Please see the latest Crop & Weather Report from Texas A&M Agrilife. Near normal crop moisture values are shown across the three crop divisions within the service area. Fire Hazard Impacts Normal wildland fire activity is forecast through the month of March. See Fire Hazard page for more details. Drought Mitigation Actions Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Select Municipality Restrictions (as of 3/6/2024) City of Fredericksburg: Stage 4 City of Kerrville: Stage 2 City of Georgetown: Stage 2 City of Uvalde: Stage 3 City of San Antonio: Stage 2 City of Universal City: Stage 2 City of New Braunfels: Stage 2 City of Austin: Stage 2 City of Del Rio: Stage 2 Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Reservoir Pool Elevation Current Elevation Percent Full Amistad 1117.00 feet 1050.72 feet 26.2% Medina Lake 1064.2 feet 973.84 feet 3.1% Canyon Lake 909.00 feet 887.53 feet 60.2% Granger Lake 504.00 feet 504.65 feet 100% Georgetown Lake 791.00 feet 782.10 feet 72.2% Lake Buchanan 1020.00 feet 994.80 feet 46.0% Lake LBJ 825.00 feet 824.70 feet 98.3% Lake Marble Falls 738.00 feet 736.37 feet 95.0% Lake Travis 681.00 feet 631.61 feet 38.2% Lake Austin 492.9 feet 492.10 feet 95.4% Figure Caption: USGS 7 day streamflows for Texas, valid March 6, 2024 Table caption: TWDB Reservoir conditions as of February 1, 2024 Streamflows across the service area saw decreased flows over the past 30 days. Portions of the lower Colorado, Cibolo, Blanco, and lower Guadalupe River basins have normal flows The remainder of river basins across the service area fall either below or much below normal Additional data: Edwards Aquifer, Bexar Index Well J-17 as of March 7, 2024: 10 day average: 641.6 Historical Monthly Average: 668.1 Departure from Average: -27.1 Agricultural Impacts Links to the latest Soil Moisture Ranking Percentile and Crop Moisture Index by Division. Soil moistures are near normal across much of the area. Below normal soil moistures remain across portions of the southern Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plains. Near normal crop moisture values are shown across the three crop divisions within the service area. Fire Hazard Impacts Keetch Byram Drought Index values have dropped below 200 across much of the Hill Country, I-35 corridor, Coastal Plains, and southern Edwards Plateau. Between 300 and 600 primarily remain across the Rio Grande Plains. Normal wildland fire activity is forecast through the month of March. Burn bans remain for 7 of our 33 counties as of March 6, 2024. Latest County Burn Ban map available here. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast No rainfall is forecast in south-central TX over the coming week. Rapid Onset Drought Outlook Continued hot temperatures and a lack of rainfall over the next 1-2 weeks will lead to continued Rapid Onset Drought impacts in south-central Texas. Links to the latest Climate Prediction Center 8 to 14 day Temperature Outlook and Precipitation Outlook. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Chances are equal for above, below, or near normal temperatures for the month of March. Chances lean towards below normal rainfall for the Rio Grande Plains, southern Edwards Plateau, and portions of the Hill Country and I-35 corridor. Chances are equal for at, below, or near normal rainfall for portions of the Coastal Plains, Hill Country, and I-35 corridor. Drought Outlook The Drought Outlook shows potential for drought conditions to persist across much of the Hill Country, I-35 Corridor, southern Edwards Plateau, and Rio Grande Plains. Drought development is forecast to develop across the Rio Grande Plains through March Links to the latest: Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage