March started dry and ended drier. Other than spotty streamer showers and sprinkles across the Lower Rio Grande Valley and a sole decaying supercell that dropped a little more than a third of an inch of rain and golf ball sized hail in Falfurrias just before midnight on the 31st, rain was non-existent in March 2012. The lack of rainfall and numerous bone dry days allowed conditions to worsen and the month ended with the entire region in Extreme (D3) to Exceptional (D4) drought.

Drought in KENEDY, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

March proved to be a rather dry month across Kenedy County. Pockets of light rain fell on March 8th, 0.03 inches was reported in Armstrong and 0.02 inches was reported in Sarita by Co-Op observers; however this was not enough to allow drought conditions to improve. Extreme (D4) drought conditions continued to push further southeast across the county, resulting in all of the county in extreme (D4) drought conditions by the 19th.

Drought in HIDALGO, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Little to no rain fell across Hidalgo County and only a trace of rainfall was reported during the entire month of March at the McAllen Miller Airport and at by a CoCoRaHS observer in Pharr. This lack of rain allowed for drought conditions to deteriorate across the county, with  all of the county entrenched in exceptional (D4) drought conditions by the 12th of the month.

Drought in WILLACY, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Despite a lack of rainfall during the month, drought conditions across Willacy County remained fairly steady. The majority of the county remained in extreme (D3) drought conditions, while a sliver of exceptional (D4) drought conditions along the western border, slowly crept eastward by the middle of the month.

Drought in COASTAL CAMERON, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Despite, little to no rain falling across Coastal Cameron County during the month (Co-Op observers in Port Isabel and South Padre Island reported only 0.02 to 0.03 inches of rainfall for the entire month), drought conditions remained steady, with the entire area draped in extreme (D3) drought conditions.

Drought in COASTAL WILLACY, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Despite no rain falling across Coastal Willacy County during the month, drought conditions remained steady, with the entire area draped in extreme (D3) drought conditions.

Drought in JIM HOGG, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 11-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) Drought would continue across nearly all of Jim Hogg County to begin March, as very dry, breezy, and mild days set the stage for further deterioration by mid month.

Drought in BROOKS, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

A general lack of rainfall during the first two weeks of the month allowed drought conditions to intensify, but a few showers and thunderstorms over the last half of the month allowed drought conditions to hold steady. Drought conditions intensified across much of Brooks County through the 12th of the month and then held steady.  At the beginning of the month, much of the county except for the very far southwest corner remained in extreme (D3) drought conditions. By the 12th all of the county was entrenched in exceptional (D4) drought conditions.

Drought in ZAPATA, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 11-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

A lack of rain during the first half of March, allowed drought conditions to worsen across the county. By the end of the first full week of the month, the county had been split into thirds, with the northwest third of the county clinging onto Severe (D2) drought conditions, the middle third holding steady in Extreme (D3) drought conditions, and the southeast third sliding into Exceptional (D4) drought conditions.

Drought in STARR, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 04-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Little to no rain fell across Starr County through the first week of March. A continued lack of rain allowed drought conditions to deteriorate. The western half of the county previously in severe (D2) drought conditions slid into extreme (D3) drought conditions, while the far southeast corner of the county slid into exceptional (D4) drought conditions.

Drought in CAMERON, TEXAS
From 01-MAR-13 00:00:00 to 11-MAR-13 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

While pockets of Cameron County received showers on March 8th (the ASOS at KBRO reported only 0.26 inches, while the ASOS at KHRL reported only 0.01 inches), it was not enough to keep drought conditions at bay or to allow for any improvements.  The lack of rain allowed drought conditions to intensify across the middle of the county, where severe (D2) drought conditions became extreme (D3) drought conditions. This resulted in the entire county being in extreme (D3) drought conditions.