Drought expansion continues with a small opportunity for relief
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Yet another week of dry and hot weather has caused drought to worsen across the Brazos Valley and a large portion of the state.
ACROSS THE STATE
Extreme (D3) Drought has returned to the Brazos Valley, with Exceptional Drought on either side.
Continued gradual worsening can be noted across pretty much the entirety of the state, including in South Texas, where most of the rain from Tropical Storm Harold fell after the measuring period for the US Drought Monitor (data for the week stops being collected Tuesday morning). We will see noticeable improvement across South Texas come next week. The same, however, cannot be said for Central and Southeast Texas, where both extreme (level 3/4) and exceptional (level 4/4) drought have staked their claim, as seen prominently across the Brazos Valley. The severity of this summer’s drought has lead officials to issue disaster declarations for many counties across the state, including Brazos County.
ANY CHANCE FOR RELIEF?
Widespread relief does not look likely over the next week or two, but modest rainfall seen locally and statewide into next week may, at the very least, slow drought progression. Leading into an El Niño fall, the hope is for wetter, cooler than average weather, but that has clearly not come to pass just yet.
