Drought Information Statement for South Central Texas 
Valid May 1, 2025
Issued By: NWS Austin/San Antonio
Contact Information: sr-ewx.webmaster@noaa.gov
This product will be updated June 5, 2025 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.
Half of the service area saw below normal rainfall while the other half saw above normal rainfall over the past 30 days
Streamflow and reservoirs remain low
Monthly outlooks shine a ray of hope for some drought relief during the month of May

U.S. Drought Monitor
Drought intensity and Extent

D4 (Exceptional Drought): Covers portions of the I-35 Corridor, Hill Country, and Southern Edwards Plateau.

Percent of Area: 45.24%

D3 (Extreme Drought): Covers portions of the  Southern Edwards Plateau, Rio Grande Plains, I-35 Corridor, Hill Country, and Coastal Plains.

Percent of Area: 36.35%

D2 (Severe Drought): Extends across most of the Coastal Plains and portions of the I-35 Corridor.

Percent of Area: 14.31%

D1 (Moderate Drought): Encompasses portions of the Coastal Plains and I-35 Corridor.

Percent of Area: 4.11%


Precipitation

The service area saw a tell of two rainfall stories with the southeastern half seeing below normal rainfall while the northwestern half saw above normal rainfall. 

Portions of the southern Edwards Plateau saw between 100 and 200 percent of normal rainfall

Portions of the Rio Grande Plains and Coastal Plains saw less than 20% of normal rainfall. 


Summary of Impacts

Hydrologic Impacts 
Streamflows across much of the service area remain in the below to much below normal streamflow for late April. The exception to this would be streams that received rainfall from mid to late April rainfall. (USGS)
Area reservoirs remain extremely low across the service area. 
See next page for more details

Agricultural Impacts
Please see the latest Crop & Weather Report from Texas A&M Agrilife
Soil moistures across the service area are shown in the below to well below normal range as of April 29. (NWS Climate Prediction Center) 

Fire Hazard Impacts
Near normal wildland fire potential is expected for May. (National Interagency Coordination Center)   
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 5/1/2025)
City of Uvalde: Stage 5
City of Fredericksburg: Stage 4
City of Kerrville: Stage 3
City of San Antonio: Stage 3
City of Universal City: Stage 3
City of Llano: Stage 1
City of Georgetown: Stage 2 
City of New Braunfels: Stage 3
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
1048.84 feet
25.5%
Lake Austin
492.9 feet
492.20 feet
96.1%
Lake Buchanan
1020.00 feet
998.71 feet
52.7%
Canyon Lake
909.00 feet
877.89 feet
46.3%
Georgetown Lake
791.00 feet
780.19 feet
66.9%
Granger Lake
504.00 feet
504.17 feet
100%
Lake LBJ
825.00 feet
824.69 feet
98.2%
Lake Marble Falls
738.00 feet
736.46 feet
95.7%
Medina Lake
1064.2 feet
969.59 feet
2.1%
Lake Travis
681.00 feet
635.34 feet
41.8%

Streamflows across much of the service area remain in the below to much below normal streamflow for late May. The exception to this would be streams that received rainfall from late mid to late April rains, although, those benefits won’t take long to drop off the map if additional rainfall isn’t received soon.

Additional data: 
Edwards Aquifer, Bexar Index Well J-17 as
of May 1, 2025:
10 day average: 629.5
Historical Monthly Average: 664.9
Departure from Average: -35.3

Agricultural Impacts
Soil moistures across the service area are shown in the below to well below normal range as of April 26th.

Crop moisture index values show below normal conditions for much of the service area. (Severely Dry)

Fire Hazard Impacts
Keetch Byram Drought Index values of less than 400 are primarily in portions of the Edwards Plateau and Hill Country.

Values range between 500 and 800 across a majority of the service area.

Near normal wildland fire potential expected for May.
Burn bans remain for 21 of our 33 counties as of April 30, 2025. Latest County Burn Ban map available here.


Long-Range Outlooks
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
The temperature outlook for the month of May leans towards above normal for the I-35 corridor and Coastal Plains while the remainder of the service area has equal chances of below, above, or near normal. 

The precipitation outlook leans towards above normal rainfall chances for the service area.


Drought Outlook
The monthly drought outlook for May shows drought improving across the entire service area.

The three month drought outlook shows drought conditions improving through July across the entire service area.
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage