Despite some elements of Texas receiving rainfall earlier this month, it hasn’t been sufficient to ease considerations about a extended, practically statewide drought.
More than half of Texas was in an elevated drought part as of April 19 and conditions haven’t improved since. That’s regardless of current precipitation, in keeping with the Texas Water Development Board’s weekly replace.
“Unfortunately, in areas already impacted by drought, drought intensified. The area of the state impacted by extreme or worse drought climbed to 54 percent, its largest value since February 2012,” the company stated.
State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon stated the present sample started in September. Rainfall totals throughout Texas throughout that point have been not less than 50% under common.
“Almost none of the state [had] above normal rainfall over that period. In most of the state, we see less than three quarters of the normal amount. About a third of the state, or maybe 40% received, less than half,” stated Nielsen-Gammon throughout a web-based presentation Wednesday. Additionally, he stated massive parts of West Texas “received less than a quarter of their normal amount of precipitation. When we’re talking about eight months — two thirds of the year — that’s a really serious drought.”[RL1]
It’s not simply lack of rain that’s exacerbating dry conditions, Nielsen-Gammon added.
“It’s been relatively windy over the past month across Texas, which has enhanced evaporation when there’s been water to evaporate,” he stated. “Temperatures are also a potential concern, particularly in the area where we’re seeing long-term warming temperatures.”
During the six-month interval beginning in November 2021, most of the state has been one to 2 levels above regular. The present climate sample is partly a end result of La Niña conditions. La Niña is a climate sample in the Pacific that impacts how moist or dry some elements of the world are. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, stated La Niña causes cooler climate in the Eastern Pacific, which suggests fewer rain clouds and fewer rainfall for the southwestern United States.
“About two winters out of three, Texas is below normal precipitation during La Niña,” Nielsen-Gammon stated.
Climatologists at the moment are trying to the subsequent few months to see what, if any, aid Texas can count on.
“These next three months — the rest of April, May and June — appear to be huge as far as us getting out of this drought,” stated Victor Murphy, National Weather Service Southern Region Climate program supervisor. “This is when it should rain. And if you get rainfall during your wettest time of year, you’re usually in pretty good shape. So there’s a lot riding, quite honestly, these next two or three months.”
But Murphy added some elements of the state sometimes see their wettest months a bit later in the 12 months. Those embody El Paso and different areas of West Texas, the place about half all rainfall happens in the summer season. The Brownsville and Corpus Christi areas normally expertise their peak rainfall from August by way of October.
A protracted dry interval additionally means Texas’ agricultural sector ought to brace itself for the chance of a sustained affect.
“More than 80% percent of the winter wheat crop in the state is rated poor to very poor at this point with the normal harvest season coming in up in a few months,” stated Murphy. “It’s going to be very hard to get much recovery out of that. Even irrigated crops cost money to irrigate so the drier it is the more money you end up spending and eventually it becomes a money-losing proposition.”