05/02/2024

Seasonably normal temperatures and severe weather conditions occurred in the Southern Region last week. Overall, temperatures in the Southern Region ranged from above-normal in the west, to cooler-than-normal in the east due to several cold fronts. All six states received rainfall, with the highest accumulations in Texas and Arkansas. On Friday, a line of severe thunderstorms that produced three tornadoes south of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex trailed from near Austin to northeast Texas. A CoCoRaHS station in Kaufman, TX, recorded over 5 inches of rain from this event. The Killeen-Temple area in Texas consistently received rainfall throughout the week - the highest accumulations of 3 to 4 inches on Sunday. West Texas and Oklahoma received severe thunderstorms that produced devastating tornadoes on Saturday, impacting as far west as Big Springs, TX, and east as Baxter County, AR. As a result, drought ameliorated affected areas in west Texas and central Texas, along with one-classification improvements throughout east Oklahoma and bordering Arkansas counties. While these areas received significant rainfall, most other areas in the Southern Region were left dry. Low moisture, thus little precipitation, in parts of east and west Tennessee, sustained for a short period, leading to (D0) abnormally dry and (D1) moderate drought conditions. The Oklahoma panhandle also received little to no precipitation the last week, contributing to a month-long dry period with a few days of sparse rainfall in April. Combined with abnormally-hot temperatures and high winds, drought continued to intensify to a (D2) Severe Drought last week.