Is Central Texas still in drought? Maps show change before and after last week's floods
The storms delivered a dramatic burst of moisture to a parched landscape, but even with that, much of Texas remains locked in abnormally dry conditions and drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor maps.
The flooding came on the heels of an early and intense heat wave, with triple-digit temperatures gripping parts of the state as early as mid-May — nearly two months ahead of schedule. Temperatures soared as high as 113 degrees along the Texas-Mexico border, and June ended as the seventh-hottest month on record.
While the recent rain did lead to a notable reduction in drought coverage across parts of the state, it wasn't enough to bring widespread or lasting relief. Large swaths of Texas remain in severe to exceptional drought — the three highest categories — including the Texas Hill Country, which saw the greatest devastation from last week's flash flood that came hours ahead of Fourth of July celebrations, killing at least 120 with 170 still missing.
No drought: 62.15%
Abnormally dry to exceptional drought (D0–D4): 37.85%
Moderate to exceptional drought (D1–D4): 29.50%
Severe to exceptional drought (D2–D4): 22.20%
Extreme to exceptional drought (D3–D4): 13.48%
Exceptional drought (D4): 5.75%
Drought Severity and Coverage Index (DSCI): 109
The Drought Severity and Coverage Index describes the overall intensity and geographic extent of drought conditions in a given area.
No drought: 68.71% of Texas
Abnormally dry to exceptional drought (D0–D4): 31.29%
Moderate to exceptional drought (D1–D4): 23.04%
Severe to exceptional drought (D2–D4): 16.29%
Extreme to exceptional drought (D3–D4): 10.21%
Exceptional drought (D4): 4.38%
Drought Severity and Coverage Index (DSCI): 85
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Is Central Texas still in drought? See maps after last week's floods
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
7 minutes ago
- CBS News
Lollapalooza road closures in place as cleanup begins in Grant Park
Another year of Lollapalooza is in the books, and cleanup is underway in Grant Park. The grandstands are starting to come down and streets around Grant Park are expected to reopen starting on Monday. Some closures around Balbo and Jackson will stay closed until August 9 and 10. Street closures began as early as July 16, and some closures will continue through August 4. With the weather staying stable all weekend, it was another record-setting crowd on Sunday with Sabrina Carpenter closing the festival. Official attendance figures for the festival will be released. The city's Office of Emergency Management and Communication will also release official incident reports and ambulance transports from the event. Last year, arrests at the festival hit a five-year low, with the city saying police arrested nine people across the four days. That's down from 14 the year before.
CBS News
37 minutes ago
- CBS News
Water main repairs taking place in Harper Woods
Water main repairs are expected to affect service Monday for residents in part of Harper Woods, Michigan. The Harper Woods Department of Public Safety said repairs would start about 8 a.m. near 21400 block of Severn Road. Once started, repairs would take about three to five hours. The potenial exists for water service to be disrupted in several blocks in each direction, the notice said. Area residents near the water main break are asked to move their vehicles away from the area. "Once water has been restored, please flush your lines until water runs clear," the notice said.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
It's going to be a pleasant day today in the Pittsburgh area
It's going to be a pleasant day in the Pittsburgh area with several more dry days ahead in the forecast. Any Alert Days Ahead? No, unless Canadian smoke gets out of hand Aware: While still nearly a week away, our next good chance for rain may come from tropical moisture moving inland from the East Coast. WEATHER LINKS: Current Conditions | School Closings & Delays | Submit Your Weather Photos A/C units continue to get a break heading into the week with mild mornings giving way to pleasant afternoon weather each day this work week. Humidity levels will tick up, with Wednesday through Saturday dealing with low to moderate humidity levels. Humidity levels remain low today and Tuesday. With humidity levels low, and high pressure in place, our rain chances will remain low to non-existent through Saturday. Our only real concern with the weather will come with some potential hazy skies due to Canadian smoke that will be in place most of the week. At this point, it looks like the smoke will be thickest east of the Laurel Highlands up into New York through Wednesday. While my model data of smoke cuts off on Wednesday, where and how it is situated makes me believe that if data stretched out beyond Wednesday, there would be improvement for all points around our region. The other thing I am watching is the east coast and the Atlantic Ocean. Right now we have a cluster of non-tropical storms sitting just off the East Coast near Savannah, Georgia. There is some broad circulation going on right now, and the Hurricane Center places a 30% chance of formation of a tropical system in this cluster over the next week. For us, it doesn't really matter if it turns tropical or not; it is pegged to be our next good chance for rain here locally. If it impacts our area, it would occur late Sunday into Monday and Tuesday. Behind that another system, that has the potential to be a monster storm, is currently coming off the African coast. The African dust storms have historically turned into some of the most powerful and destructive hurricanes. The Hurricane Center gives this storm a 50 percent chance for development over the next week. That percentage is probably low. The current upper air profile is conducive for East Coast storms moving up and along the Appalachian Mountains over the next two weeks. While too early to know where these potential storms may head, it bears watching with our current set-up.
