From flash drought to normal in four months:
I don’t think any of us can forget this past summer.
We hit 109° THREE times with only .01″ of rain recorded in the month of August. Our drought was categorized as extreme and exceptional in September. An exceptional drought is classified as a once-in-a-generation drought, one that occurs once every fifty years. We were praying for rain and lower temperatures.
What changed:
In October, we started getting rain. You often hear that hurricanes are drought-busters. While that is a true statement, you don’t need a hurricane or tropical storm to get out of a drought. The relief we have now is a good example. In fact, until last week, we really haven’t had to deal with much flooding. What we got was a gradual eroding of the drought through a more consistent rainy weather pattern.
The improvement:
The state of Texas’ severe drought is now 10% compared to 60% four months ago. This update includes all of the rain we received last month.
Soil moisture content:
A different way of looking at the drought is through the lens of soil moisture content. How much rain is needed to bring soil moisture levels back to normal. From the below graphic you can see we are completely out of the drought for all of southeast Texas. West Texas is the only place that needs a little more rain.
February’s forecast:
More rain is expected Saturday to start the month of February. The long-range prediction is to end the month of February above average. Our rainy weather pattern continues.
I hope you like it!