Texas drought: Heavy rains bring big relief

Let’s talk drought. Although many in the South continue to experience heavy rains, Texas made the cut in the latest drought report after the extreme rainfall that fell on Sunday and Monday. So, let’s see how it helped the drought.

First, we must say that much of the Lone Star State continues in a drought, with more than 70 percent of the state under severe drought (level 3, depicted in orange), about 43 percent in extreme drought (bright red), and over 12 percent in exceptional drought (worse level- in dark red). But some drought levels were slashed in half, like in the case of the exceptional drought that closed off the previous week with over 26 percent, which included the area of Dallas-Fort Worth. This is great news!

Another area that moved down a drought category or two was the Texas Panhandle. Cities like Amarillo improved their drought from extreme to severe and some nearby areas are now at a moderate level.

Harris County, where Houston is located, also experienced an improvement. The previous week, ending on the 16th, had about 25 percent of the county under a severe drought. Now, there is no severe drought and most of it is under moderately dry conditions.

Our team of meteorologists will analyze how the drought has improved or worsened in August across the nation at the end of the month and bring you the full report on Thursday, September 1.