DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 330 PM CDT FRI AUG 1 2008 HURRICANE DOLLY MAKES LANDFALL JUST NORTH OF BROWNSVILLE ON THE 23RD DROUGHT CONDITIONS END AS TORRENTIAL RAINS FALL OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS SYNOPSIS... ACCORDING TO THE UNITED STATES DROUGHT MONITOR...WIDESPREAD TORRENTIAL RAINS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES, WITH AREAS OF 20 INCHES ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE DOLLY PUT AN END TO DROUGHT CONDITIONS OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... FIRE DANGER IMPACTS. RAINY CONDITIONS DURING THE MONTH OF JULY HAVE REPLENISHED BADLY NEED SOIL MOISTURE AND HAS TURN VEGETATION GREEN OVER THE AREA. ACCORDING TO THE STATE OF TEXAS FOREST SERVICE WILDFIRE DANGER OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS IS LOW. ACCORDING THE STATE OF TEXAS FOREST SERVICE...LATEST KEETCH-BYRAM DROUGHT INDICES (KBDI) ARE CURRENTLY 200 OR LESS OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. COUNTY BURN BANS ARE STILL IN EFFECT FOR JIM HOGG... STARR...HIDALGO AND WILLACY COUNTIES. RESIDENTS OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS ARE URGED TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISPOSING OF SMOKING MATERIALS. AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS. ACCORDING TO THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...SOIL MOISTURE OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS IS CONSIDERED EXCESSIVELY WET. ACCORDING TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL...AND TEXAS AGRILIFE EXTENSION SERVICE AGENTS..."TORRENTIAL RAINFALL, IN EXCESS OF 10 INCHES AND MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS OF NEAR 100 MPH DAMAGED CITRUS, SUGARCANE, UNHARVESTED SORGHUM AND COTTON CROPS. EARLY ESTIMATES FROM EXTENSION SERVICE AGENTS INDICATE MAJOR LOSSES IN THE COTTON CROP FROM THE EFFECTS OF DOLLY. COTTON AND SORGHUM HAD ALREADY BEEN HEAVILY DAMAGED FROM EARLIER HEAVY RAINS DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF JULY. RAINS FROM DOLLY HAVE FLOODED FIELDS AND HAVE PUT A HALT TO FIELD OPERATIONS. RANGE...PASTURES AND FORAGE HAVE MADE A MARKED IMPROVEMENT FOLLOWING THE STORM. CURRENT DAILY EVAPORATION RATES OVER THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY ARE AVERAGING NEAR 3/10 OF AN INCH. WATER RESTRICTIONS. ACCORDING TO THE STATE OF TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (TCEQ)...THERE ARE CURRENTLY 3 PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS IN HIDALGO COUNTY WHICH ARE UNDER MILD RATIONING. CLIMATE SUMMARY... HURRICANE DOLLY MADE LANDFALL JUST NORTH OF BROWNSVILLE ON THE 23RD. TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AND SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR 100 MPH ACCOMPANIED DOLLY. STORM RAINFALL TOTALS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES WERE WIDESPREAD, WITH A SWATH OF 12 TO 20 INCHES EXTENDING OVER PORTIONS OF CAMERON, WILLACY AND HIDALGO COUNTY. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATED RAINFALL TOTALS OF NEAR 24 INCHES OVER EXTREME NORTHWESTERN CAMERON COUNTY AND OVER COASTAL CAMERON COUNTY, NEAR THE CITY OF LAGUNA VISTA. THE BROWNSVILLE AIRPORT SET A NEW DAILY RAINFALL RECORD OF 6.68 INCHES ON THE 23RD. RAINFALL DURING THE MONTH OF JULY OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS WAS FOR THE RECORD BOOKS. COMBINED WITH THE TORRENTIAL RAINFALL FROM DOLLY, DEEP SOUTH TEXAS EXPERIENCED A HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT FROM THE 1ST THROUGH THE 7TH OF JULY. BROWNSVILLE RECORDED THE WETTEST JULY EVER, WITH 13.24 INCHES. PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 9.43 INCHES BACK IN 1976. RAINFALL RECORDS FOR BROWNSVILLE BEGAN IN 1871. ...PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK... AUGUST 1ST THROUGH AUGUST 15TH... MID LEVEL AND SURFACE RIDING WILL REMAIN IN CONTROL OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FROM AUGUST 1ST THROUGH AUGUST 5TH. A WEAKNESS IN THE RIDGING WILL MOVE IN OVER THE TEXAS COASTLINE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO FROM AUGUST 6TH THROUGH AUGUST 8TH. THIS MAY INCREASE THE CHANCES FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS DURING THIS PERIOD. THE MID LEVEL AND SURFACE RIDGING WILL THEN REBUILD OVER THE REGION FROM AUGUST 9TH THROUGH AUGUST 15TH WHICH WILL ALLOW A RETURN TO HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS. OVERALL TEMPERATURES EXPECTED ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FOR THE FIRST HALF OF AUGUST WILL BE NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL. NORMAL HIGHS ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FOR THIS UPCOMING PERIOD GENERALLY RANGE FROM NEAR 90 ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COASTAL AREAS TO THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 90S ACROSS THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY TO THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 90S ACROSS THE FAR WESTERN AREAS. NORMAL NIGHTTIME LOWS FOR THIS SAME PERIOD RANGE IN THE MIDDLE 70S. ANY OF THE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THAT OCCURS THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD WILL RESULT IN ONLY SHORT TERM RELIEF FROM THE CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS. LONG RANGE CLIMATE OUTLOOK FOR THE REST OF AUGUST...SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER OF 2008...DERIVED FROM GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...INDICATES THAT ENSO NEUTRAL CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE FALL OF 2008. AS A RESULT OF THE ENSO-NEUTRAL CONDITIONS...MORE NORMAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE EXPECTED ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS INTO OCTOBER OF 2008. NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD. HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... RECENT RAINS OVER THE REGION HAVE ALLOWED FOR A LESSEN DEMAND OF WATER RELEASES FROM AREA RESERVOIRS. FALCON AND AMISTAD RESERVOIRS PROVIDE MUCH OF THE WATER FOR THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY. CURRENTLY...STORAGE AT AMISTAD IS AT 68 PERCENT OF NORMAL CONSERVATION. STORAGE AT FALCON INCREASED TO 34 PERCENT OF NORMAL CONSERVATION. NEXT ISSUANCE DATE... DROUGHT CONDITIONS HAVE ENDED OVER DEEP SOUTH TEXAS, AS A RESULT THIS WILL BE THE LAST DROUGHT STATEMENT ISSUED. THIS PRODUCT WILL BE REISSUED WHEN DROUGHT CONDITIONS RETURN TO DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. RELATED WEB SITES... FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...AND THE LATEST WEATHER FORECAST FOR DEEP SOUTH TEXAS...VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bro/
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER:
http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/
INFORMATION ON RESERVOIR LEVELS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION:
http://www.ibwc.state.gov/
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING NOAA'S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER...THE USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...THE USDA...STATE AGRILIFE EXTENSION SERVICE DISTRICT AGENTS, TEXAS FOREST SERVICE AND IBWC. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS... IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 20 SOUTH VERMILLION ROAD BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS 78521 PHONE: 956-504-1432 EMAIL: SR-BRO.webmaster@noaa.gov VEGA/SPEECE