Drought Information Statement for South Central Texas Valid April 4, 2024 Issued By: NWS Austin/San Antonio Contact Information: sr-ewx.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated May 2, 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. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/ for regional drought status updates. Minimal improvements in drought conditions over the past month, while conditions worsening across the west Reservoir levels in the Hill County and along the Rio Grande remain very low Monthly outlooks give some hope for improvement 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, Rio Grande Plains, and I-35 corridor Percent of Area: 19.46% No Drought or D0 (Abnormally Dry): Extends across the portions of Rio Grande Plains, and Coastal Plains Percent of Area: 40.93% 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, Rio Grande Plains, and localised areas in the Hill Country and Coastal Plains No Change: Portions of the southern Edwards Plateau, I-35 Corridor, Rio Grande Plains, and Hill Country Drought Improved: Small portions of the I-35 corridor, Rio Grande Plains and Coastal Plains Precipitation Links to the latest Precipitation Accumulation and Percent of Normal over the past 30 days Less than normal rainfall was seen over the vast majority of south central Texas over the past 30 days. Isolated spots in the southern Edwards Plateau, Coastal Plains, I-35 corridor, and Hill Country saw near normal to above normal rainfall. The Rio Grande Plains received the least amount of rain for the month (less than 25 percent of normal). Temperature Summarize conditions/impacts here Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Portions of the lower Colorado, San Antonio, and Blanco basins have normal flows The remainder of river basins across the service area fall into either below or much below normal range Medina Lake is now at 2.9 percent capacity, and Canyon Lake is approximately a tenth of a foot from record low levels 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 April. 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 4/4/2024) City of Fredericksburg: Stage 4 City of Kerrville: Stage 2 City of Georgetown: Stage 2 City of Uvalde: Stage 4 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 City of Llano: Stage 2 Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Reservoir Pool Elevation Current Elevation Percent Full Amistad 1117.00 feet 1050.91 feet 28.2% Medina Lake 1064.2 feet 973.16 feet 2.9% Canyon Lake 909.00 feet 887.20 feet 59.7% Granger Lake 504.00 feet 504.70 feet 100% Georgetown Lake 791.00 feet 783.24 feet 75.4% Lake Buchanan 1020.00 feet 995.06 feet 46.5% Lake LBJ 825.00 feet 824.70 feet 98.3% Lake Marble Falls 738.00 feet 736.26 feet 94.1% Lake Travis 681.00 feet 630.85 feet 37.6% Lake Austin 492.9 feet 492.16 feet 95.8% Figure Caption: USGS 7 day streamflows for Texas, valid April 3, 2024 Table caption: TWDB Reservoir conditions as of April 3, 2024 Portions of the lower Colorado, San Antonio, and Blanco basins have normal flows The remainder of river basins across the service area fall into either below or much below normal range Medina Lake is now at 2.9 percent capacity, and Canyon Lake is approximately a tenth of a foot from record low levels Additional data: Edwards Aquifer, Bexar Index Well J-17 as of April 4, 2024: 10 day average: 639.6 Historical Monthly Average: 666.5 Departure from Average: -27.9 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 portions of southern Edwards Plateau. Values range between 300 and 600 across the Rio Grande Plains, and portions of the southern Edwards Plateau. Normal wildland fire activity is forecast through the month of April. Burn bans remain for 8 of our 33 counties as of April 4, 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 lean towards above normal temperatures for the month of April. Chances lean towards above normal precipitation for the month of April. Drought Outlook The Drought Outlook shows potential for drought conditions to persist across portions of the Rio Grande Plains and southern Edwards Plateau. Drought conditions are forecast to improve or end across portions of the Hill Country, I-35 Corridor, and southern Edwards Plateau. 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