Drought Information Statement for Deep South Texas Valid April 9, 2026 Issued By: NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley, TX Contact Information: sr-bro.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated around April 24, 2026, 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/bro/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates ***Beneficial Rainfall Improves Drought Conditions Across Deep South Texas*** ***Severe to Extreme Drought Conditions Observed Across the Rio Grande Valley*** Drought Intensity and Extent Exceptional Drought (D4) conditions are being observed across less than 1% of Deep South Texas, over extreme northern Jim Hogg County. Extreme Drought (D3) conditions are being observed across nearly 73% of Deep South Texas, including most of Zapata, Jim Hogg, Brooks, Kenedy, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron, as well as northern Starr counties. Severe Drought (D2) conditions are being observed across over 26% of Deep South Texas, including most of Starr, as well as eastern Jim Hogg, western Brooks, northeastern Kenedy, western Hidalgo, far eastern Hidalgo, central Willacy, and central to southeastern Cameron counties. Recent Change in Drought Intensity In the past 4 weeks, there has been a 2 class improvement across eastern Jim Hogg and western Brooks counties, as well as a 1 class improvement across eastern Zapata, most of Jim Hogg and Brooks, northern Kenedy, most of Starr, and western Hidalgo counties. In the past 4 weeks, there has been no change to drought conditions across central to southern Zapata, central and southern Starr, southeastern Brooks, most of Hidalgo, western Kenedy, western and central Willacy, and central to southeastern Cameron counties. In the past 4 weeks, there has been a 1 class degradation across northwestern Zapata, eastern Kenedy, portions of eastern Hidalgo, most of Willacy, and portions of both northern and southern Cameron counties, as well as a 2 class degradation across southeastern Willacy and northeastern Cameron counties. Precipitation Over the past 30 days, majority of Deep South Texas has received between 75-150% of normal rainfall, with southeastern Jim Hogg, southern Brooks, eastern Starr and Hidalgo counties receiving between 200-400% of normal rainfall. Over the past 90 days, most of Deep South Texas has received between 25-90% of normal rainfall, with southeastern Jim Hogg, southern Brooks, southern Zapata, southern and eastern Starr, and Hidalgo counties receiving between 75-150%, and southeastern Starr to southwestern Hidalgo receiving between 150-200% of normal rainfall. Temperature Average Maximum Temperatures over the past 30 days across Deep South Texas have ranged near to above normal, at 85-95 degrees. Average Minimum Temperatures over the past 30 days across Deep South Texas have ranged generally near to below normal, between 55-65 degrees. Overall, temperatures warm from near normal to above normal across Deep South Texas through Wednesday, April 15th, with lows in the mid 60s to mid 70s and highs in the mid 80s to mid 90s. Summary of Impacts Hydrologic Impacts Streamflows across South and Deep South Texas remain below normal, but briefly increased to above normal during a round of beneficial rainfall over the past 7 days. Texas water share values have dropped to 30% at Amistad and below 20% at Falcon Lake. Agricultural Impacts Please see the latest Crop and Weather Report from Texas A&M AgriLife. Soil moistures and crop moistures are well below normal across all of Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, with near normal crop moistures across southern Zapata and Starr counties. Fire Hazard Impacts Above normal wildland fire activity is expected across all of Deep South Texas through April, with near normal wildland fire activity returning May through July. Burn bans remain in effect for all of Deep South Texas except Kenedy County. Mitigation Actions Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Streamflows across South and Deep South Texas remain below normal, but briefly increased to above normal during a round of beneficial rainfall. Texas water share values have dropped to near 30% at Amistad. Texas water share values have dropped below 20% at Falcon Lake. Reservoir: Pool Elevation* (ft) | Current Elevation* (ft) | Percent Full* Amistad: 1117.00 | 1047.57 | 30.8% Falcon Lake: 301.20 | 257.09 | 19.3% Percent Full*: 1 Month Ago | 3 Months Ago | 1 Year Ago Amistad: 32.6% | 35.4% | 25.8% Falcon Lake: 20.0% | 18.1% | 16.0% * = Current Texas Water Share Agricultural Impacts Soil moistures are well below normal across all of Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. Crop moisture indices are generally well-below normal across Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, with near normal crop moisture across portions of Zapata and Starr counties. Fire Hazard Impacts Keetch-Byram Drought Index values generally range from 500-700 across Deep South Texas, with 200-500 in portions of northern Zapata, eastern Jim Hogg, western Brooks, eastern and southern Starr, and western Hidalgo. Above normal wildland fire potential is expected across all of Deep South Texas through April 2026, before returning to normal in May through July 2026. Burn bans are in effect for all of Deep South Texas, except for Kenedy County. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast An active weather pattern continues into the weekend across Deep South Texas with multiple rounds of rainfall expected tonight, Friday, and Saturday. Estimated rainfall of around 0.10 of an inch to 0.50 of an inch is expected through Saturday. Overall, through Sunday, April 19th, probabilities are leaning toward above normal rainfall across Deep South Texas with a medium chance (33-40% chance along the coast and 40-50% chance inland) chance. Long-Range Outlooks There is a medium (33-40%) chance of above normal temperatures through April. There is medium (33-40%) chance of above normal rainfall across Deep South Texas through April. Through June 2026, there is a medium (40-60%) chance of above normal temperatures and an equal chance of above or below normal rainfall across Deep South Texas. Drought Outlook Drought is expected to persist across all of Deep South Texas through June, 2026