In the past two months, East Texas and the Coast have seen more than two inches of rain. However, the Southern Coastal area and the Northeastern area of Texas have received more than four inches of rain. Far West Texas and the Panhandle have received less than .5 of an inch of rain, coinciding with most of the rest of the state that have received less than normal rainfall over the past thirty days.
While drought conditions have improved across the State, 75% of the state is still abnormally dry or worse. This is down from 89% from four weeks ago. The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook forecasts drought persistence in Far West Texas, while the rest of the state is likely to improve.
El Niño conditions continue with a return to neutral conditions toward the middle of next year. In the graph below, you can see this month’s projections are lower than last months. The new projections give El Niño a 90% chance of extending through the March-April-May Season and greater chances of neutral conditions for the May-June-July Season.
For more information and the full article, be sure to check out the full Texas + Water newsletter!