Drought Information Statement for South Central Texas Valid September 3, 2026 Issued By: National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio Contact Information: nws.sanantonio@noaa.gov This product will be updated October 1, 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/EWX/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates. Beneficial rainfall occurred for much of South Central Texas in the months of June/July with improvements noted in short term drought across the board. Streamflows and reservoirs have trended much higher since the July floods, however, an increasing number of watershed are seeing lower streamflow percentile given the lack of rainfall over the past 30 days. The seasonal drought outlook calls for drought to persist for areas still within drought. U.S. Drought Monitor Drought intensity and Extent D4 (Exceptional Drought): None Percent of Area: 0% D3 (Extreme Drought): None Percent of Area: 0% D2 (Severe Drought): Covers portions of Travis and Bastrop Counties. Percent of Area: 1.23% D1 (Moderate Drought): Covers portions of the I-35 Corridor, Hill Country, and Coastal Plains. Percent of Area: 35.33% D0: (Abnormally Dry): Covers the Hill Country, I-35 Corridor, and portions of the Rio Grande Plains. Percent of Area: 65.80% {{DROUGHT_MONITOR}} Recent Change in Drought Intensity Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: Portions of the Hill Country, Rio Grande Plains, Coastal Plains, and I-35 Corridor. No Change: Portions of the I-35 Corridor, Rio Grande Plains, and Coastal Plains. Drought Improved: A small sliver of Dimmit County. Precipitation Much of the service area saw below normal rainfall the past 30 days. Localized pockets saw greater than 100-150% of normal rainfall. August was a very dry month across south central Texas. Summary of Impacts Hydrologic Impacts The majority of streamflows across the service area remain in the normal to above normal percentile. (USGS) An increasing number of sporadic sites are starting to show below to much below streamflow percentile as surface runoff was minimal over the past 30 day. (USGS) Storage in area reservoirs remain low at Medina and Amistad despite recent improvements. See next page for more details. Agricultural Impacts Please see the latest Crop & Weather Report from Texas A&M Agrilife. Crop moisture index values show near normal conditions over the region. (NWS Climate Prediction Center) Fire Hazard Impacts The Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook calls for near normal conditions in July and August. (National Interagency Coordination Center) See Fire Hazard page for more details. Mitigation Actions Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts The majority of streamflows across the service area fall within the normal to much above normal category. With the lack of surface runoff from less than normal rainfall over the past 30 days has resulted in an increasing number of sites reporting below to much below normal streamflow percentile. Additional data: Edwards Aquifer, Bexar Index Well J-17 as of September 2, 2026: 10 day average: 642.8 Historical Monthly Average: 659.3 Departure from Average: -16.2 Reservoir Pool Elevation Current Elevation Percent Full Amistad 1117.00 feet 1056.65 feet 38.1% Lake Austin 492.9 feet 492.39 feet 97.3% Lake Buchanan 1020.00 feet 1019.00 feet 97.4% Canyon Lake 909.00 feet 909.20 feet 100% Georgetown Lake 791.00 feet 786.64 feet 85.7% Granger Lake 504.00 feet 504.17 feet 100% Lake LBJ 825.00 feet 824.76 feet 98.6% Lake Marble Falls 738.00 feet 736.43 feet 95.4% Medina Lake 1064.2 feet 1021.50 feet 29.5% Lake Travis 681.00 feet 678.28 feet 95.4% Table caption: TWDB Reservoir conditions as of September 2, 2026 Agricultural Impacts Crop moisture index values show near normal to well below normal values. Small sliver of above normal where heavy rains fell late last week. Fire Hazard Impacts Keetch Byram Drought Index values of 500-800 are noted across much of the service area. The Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook calls for above normal potential in September, but normal conditions are expected October through December. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Burn bans are in effect for 27 of our 33 counties as of September 3, 2026. Latest County Burn Ban map available here. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Most of the area leaning towards near normal precipitation for September. The entire service area is shown to lean towards above normal temperatures for the month of September. Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The three month drought outlook shows drought persisting for areas within drought at this time.