Houston barely stays out of drought status

SE Texas getting enough to stay out of a serious drought danger for now

HOUSTON – We've got over three inches of rain in the bucket for Houston so far this month.  That's over a half-inch above normal and is enough to draw most of us out of an official drought status for the time being.  Areas west of Houston are the driest, with many counties between Houston and the Hill Country suffering from a moderate drought.

Much of the area is still abnormally dry, even though it may not look that way as you survey the landscape.  The ground isn't rock-hard from lack of rain.  Trees aren't dying.  Lawns look as green as they should at this time of year.  But because our dry spells over the past couple of years have been so intense, we're still teetering on the edge of drought.  We'll need a more prolonged period of wet weather to really pull us out of the danger zone.

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Our current weather forecast is looking more dry than wet.  The best chance for rain in Houston will come next week as a cold front swings through on Tuesday.  We probably won't get a significant soaking, but even a tenth or a quarter of an inch is welcome.  Given the devastation a drought can deliver, as we saw in 2011, we know every drop counts!

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Meteorologist, runner, triathlete and proud Houstonian.