page_title: 2010–2013 Southern United States and Mexico drought
section_title: Effects
hierarchical_section_title: 2010–2013 Southern United States and Mexico drought / Effects
caption_attribution_description: English: The immense expansion in drought and abnormal dryness in the first half of 2012. (1/3-7/3)
context_page_description: The 2010–2013 Southern United States and Mexico drought was a severe to extreme drought that plagued the Southern United States, including parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Oklahoma; the Southwestern States, including Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona; as well as large parts of Mexico, in a three-year pattern from 2010 to 2013.
  The worst effects were in Texas, which experienced the brunt of the drought and its driest August–July period on record from 2010-11. The dry spell in May 2011 was also said to be the worst period of drought in Texas since 1895. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported that Lubbock, Texas has experienced the nation's worst average level of drought since the beginning of 2011. McAllen, Harlingen, Brownsville and Corpus Christi also ranked among the nine U.S. cities most affected by extreme drought. The drought in Texas caused an estimated $7.62 billion in crop and livestock losses, surpassing the previous record loss of $4.1 billion set in 2006.
context_section_description: The drought caused severe lack of water in the southern plains and Rocky Mountains as well as numerous wildfires, in particular the 2011 Texas wildfires, the Wallow Fire and Horseshoe 2 Fire in Arizona, the Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire and Little Bear Fire in New Mexico, and the 2012 Colorado wildfires in Colorado. Mexico also saw serious impact from the drought which decimated crops, killed over a million cattle, and stressed local water and food supplies. The drought has been described as the worst seen in the country in 70 years.
  By the end of August 2011, a ban on outdoor burning was in effect for 251 of the 254 Texas counties.  Lake levels in Texas had declined vastly, some by as much as 50 feet; E.V. Spence Reservoir was only 1% full.  This revealed various previously submerged items, ranging from a Native American's skull to a Space Shuttle Columbia tank.  On August 30, several homes in Oklahoma City were destroyed along with 1,500 wooded acres. Hundreds of homes had to be evacuated.
  The drought had a detrimental effect on Texas and Oklahoma cattle ranches, who deeply culled their herds and helped cut the national cattle population to the lowest level in decades.
  2012 spring rainfall improved conditions in many parts of Texas and by April 12, 2012 only 14% of the state was in "exceptional" drought, compared to 88% at the drought's peak.
  In spring and summer of 2012, the drought expanded and formed the 2012 North American drought, affecting more than 80% of the contiguous United States.
  In late summer of 2012, the drought eased in portions of the southern US, but continued to intensify in the central US.
caption: United States Drought Monitor on January 3 and July 3, 2012. Note the massive expansion from the South to most of the US.
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