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Lots of rain for Houston this week: Did it make a dent in our drought?

Drought conditions for Texas (KPRC2 2023)

Intense rain this week:

Below is an official list from the National Weather Service of the highest rainfall totals per county from Monday through Thursday morning. With most of the area seeing at least a half a foot of rain and in some cases, more than a foot, it begs the question: Did all this heavy rain improve our current drought status?

Rainfall totals per county (2023 KPRC2)

Well ... Did it?

The answer is a little complicated. Short answer: Yes, it did. However, because the drought monitor is only produced once a week, the cut-off time is Tuesday morning at 6am. So the following graphics show how dry we were after a historically HOT and dry summer.

Drought comparison - 3 months (2023 KPRC2)

In our El Nino winter, we’ve seen multiple waves of wet weather, this week’s being the heaviest, that have helped to put significant dents in our ongoing drought. In fact, there are large chunks of the state of Texas that have also seen a lot of rain, thus helping drought conditions in areas that were in extreme drought situations.

Drought conditions for Texas (KPRC2 2023)

Next week, we’ll be able to see how the rest of this week’s rainfall has helped to lessen drought conditions. For now, we’re in for a really nice weekend with plenty of sunshine and time to finally dry out! Be sure to have the Stormtracker 2 app downloaded on your phone for real-time updates and flood conditions in your neighborhood!

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About the Author
Justin Stapleton headshot

Meteorologist, craft beer guru, dad to Maya and Ella and a sock and cheese addict.