A strong front with extremely dry air ended Thanksgiving Weekend (November 27-29), with three consecutive afternoons with humidity falling below 10 percent across much of the region.  Exceptional Drought would cover all of the Lower Rio Grande Valley except a small pocket in Willacy County to start December; Extreme Drought was confined to the Upper Valley and Rio Grande Plains.
Welcome rains and frequent damp cool-downs arrived starting on the weekend of December 10th, when 2 to more than 3 inches fell from western Hidalgo through Starr County, with  1 to 2 inches elsewhere except east of Highway 77 in Cameron and Willacy County.  Despite the rains, only modest improvement was noted in Hidalgo County.

Drought in JIM HOGG, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 12-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Extreme (D3) Drought continued across all but the southeast corner of Jim Hogg County, where Exceptional (D4) Drought prevailed, through December 12th. Rangeland continued to wither to dust, particularly in the southeast corner of the county, and ranchers sold off more of the cattle herd due to insufficient feed in much of the county.  Relief would arrive on December 10th, when between 1 and 1.5 inches of soaking rain fell.

Drought in BROOKS, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across all but the northwest corner of Brooks County through December.  Rainfall estimated between one and 1.5 inches during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition.  Cattle and other herds continued to be thinned considerably due to very short grassland.

Drought in KENEDY, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across all but the extreme southern portion of Kenedy County (King Ranch area) through December.  Rainfall averaging around one inch across the county during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition.  Cattle and other herds continued to be thinned considerably due to very short grassland.

Drought in COASTAL CAMERON, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across coastal Cameron County through December.  Rainfall generally between one half and one inch across the coastal areas during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition.

Drought in ZAPATA, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Extreme (D3) Drought persisted across Zapata County through December.  That said, significant rainfall near 2 inches fell during the last three weeks of the month, alleviating conditions and allowing modest green up of some rangeland.  Cattle herds continued to thin or be sold due to the lack of available feed and continued short grasses.

Drought in WILLACY, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Extreme (D3) to Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across inland Willacy County through December.  Rainfall generally between one half and one inch across the county during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition.  Cattle and other herds continued to be thinned considerably due to very short grassland.  Additional data on crop damage may be added in early January.

Drought in COASTAL WILLACY, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across coastal Willacy County through December.  Rainfall generally between one half and one inch across the coastal areas during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition.

Drought in CAMERON, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought persisted across inland Cameron County through December.  Rainfall averaging near one inch during the last three weeks of the month was not enough to change the long term condition.  Additional crop damage may have been realized during late harvests.

Drought in HIDALGO, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 12-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought continued across all of Hidalgo through December 12th.  Areas west of Mission continued to be pummeled the worst, with some locations still holding at less than 5 inches of rain since October 1, 2010!   Rangeland continued to wither to dust, and ranchers sold off more of the cattle herd due to insufficient feed in much   of western and northern Hidalgo County.  There may have been additional crop damage from any late harvests. Relief would arrive on December 10th, when between 1.5 and 2.5 inches of soaking rain fell.

Drought in STARR, TEXAS
From 01-DEC-11 00:00:00 to 12-DEC-11 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Exceptional (D4) Drought continued across the eastern half of Starr County through December 12th - an area which until then had received less than 5 inches of rainfall in fourteen months.  Extreme (D3) Drought prevailed across western Starr County. Rangeland continued to wither to dust, and ranchers sold off more of the cattle herd due to insufficient feed in most areas.  Relief would arrive on December 10th, when between 2 and 4 inches fell across much of the county.