Burn Ban issued for Robertson County

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Robertson County is the first area county to issue a Burn Ban locally since they were last lifted in early November. This means outdoor burning is prohibited until further notice.

🚫🔥𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗡 Update🔥🚫

As of Tuesday, Robertson County is now officially under a BURN BAN. Outdoor burning is prohibited until further notice.

This is the first county locally to issue a ban since they were last lifted in early November. pic.twitter.com/9NSI23URh9

— Shel Winkley 👍 (@KBTXShel) July 11, 2023

Rain has been hard to come by the last few weeks thanks to the upper-level setup. While some areas in the central and southern portions of the Brazos Valley picked up some rainfall last week, Milam, Robertson, and Leon counties stayed dry. Even with the lack of rainfall, the Brazos Valley has stayed drought free since February. However, the “Abnormally Dry” conditions have begun to creep back into the western and southeastern reaches of the area.

Abnormally dry conditions have begun to return to the Brazos Valley

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) continually monitors drought conditions across the United States and forecasts the amount of precipitation needed to completely relieve drought conditions. The Brazos Valley needs around 6 – 9 inches of rain over the next four weeks to completely erase those drier-than-normal conditions.

While the Brazos Valley is not in drought currently, abnormally dry conditions have begun to creep back. In order to completely clear this, the Brazos Valley needs 6-9 inches of rain over the next four weeks.
Unfortunately, rain will be hard to come by in the extended period. https://t.co/7V9Scr1Z8h pic.twitter.com/ZrUuLEyQn8

— Kayleigh Thomas (@KBTXKayleigh) July 11, 2023

Unfortunately, the extended forecast is free of any rain chance as high pressure dominates the weather pattern for the foreseeable future. The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 Day Precipitation Outlook as well as the 8-14 Day Precipitation Outlook have the Brazos Valley marked in below normal chances for measurable precipitation to fall.

The Brazos Valley has below normal chances of seeing measurable precipitation through the back half of July.

It is best to avoid any activities that require an open flame. Fires can spread easily under the current weather pattern, and the forecast does not look to change drastically any time soon.