Drought Information Statement for the South Plains, Rolling Plains, and far Southern Texas Panhandle Valid July 2, 2026 Issued By: WFO Lubbock, TX Contact Information: lub.webmaster@noaa.gov Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/lub/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates. This product will be updated August 6, 2026 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly U.S. Drought Monitor Drought conditions improve over the month of June with several widespread rainfall events, however, some extreme drought (D3) remains Drought intensity and Extent D3 (Extreme Drought): Several small pockets of extreme drought remained across western Floyd, northeast Childress, and far northern portions of Briscoe and Swisher Counties. D2 (Severe Drought): Portions of the South Plains, Rolling Plains, and far southern Texas Panhandle were still observing severe drought. D1 (Moderate Drought): The remainder of the area was in moderate drought. Precipitation May and June are the wettest months on average for the area. While May rainfall was mostly lacking, June rainfall was higher, and closer to average for much of the area. Lower than average precipitation fell across much of the Rolling Plains into the far southern Texas Panhandle. Summary of Impacts Hydrologic Impacts Area reservoir levels were roughly unchanged as much of the area received near-average rainfall (USGS Gauges). Agricultural Impacts Please see the latest Crop and Weather Report from Texas A&M Agrilife. Some areas received beneficial rainfall resulting in improvements to soil moisture and livestock over the past few of weeks. Hot temperatures and local hail events have stressed other areas. Fire Hazard Impacts Wildfire activity markedly decreased in June with no large fire activity reported since early June. Other Impacts Soil moisture values are below the 5th percentile in many locations, especially south of a line from Lubbock to Paducah. Others areas that have seen rainfall have improved soil moisture conditions. (NASA SpoRT-LiS) Mitigation Actions Burn bans remained in place for most counties across the region. Reservoir Conservation Pool (ft) Current Elevation (ft) Percent Full Mackenzie Lake 3100.0 3030.5 14% White River Lake 2370.0 2351.5 22% Lake Alan Henry 2220.0 2211.3 77% Lake Meredith 2936.0 2891.0 44% Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage While drought categories showed a general improvement for the area in June, the outlook calls for the current drought conditions at the end of June to persist through the remainder of the summer.