HOUSTON — Updated drought report shows significant worsening of drought conditions across southeast Texas.
Each Thursday, a drought monitor report is issued and compiled of data through 8 a.m. of the previous Tuesday. That being said, any rain our area picked up on Tuesday after 8 a.m. was not included in this report. That doesn't say much since the majority of the area remained bone dry since the last update.
All of Southeast Texas is now experiencing extreme drought conditions. Six counties have entered exceptional drought conditions, the highest tier of drought severity.
Keep in mind, that officially at Bush Airport we have not recorded a single day with measurable rainfall since July 6th, that makes it 48 days, the longest streak on record!
The ongoing dry conditions and relentless heat has contributed to drought conditions that are now worse than this same time last year, when much of the area was also experiencing drought conditions.
Experimental forecast products from NOAA gives an indication as to what it may take to lift the area out of drought conditions. What's depicted below is the amount of rain necessary to alleviate the drought within 1 month. As you can tell, that is not feasible unless a major rain event were to unfold, say from a tropical system.
Burns bans and water restrictions have already been implemented in many areas across southeast Texas, we can expect that trend to continue.
Reservoir levels are still sufficiently full and there is no concern that this will become an issue for our area.
