Another week has passed in southeast Texas without any rainfall. In Houston, our last measurable rainfall was on Sept. 25 (29 days ago), but our last significant rainfall (over a quarter inch) was on Sept. 6 (48 days).
It is no surprise that that drought monitors this week had our conditions worsening. We were hot and dry. The biggest change is that 15% of southeast Texas is now considered in a “severe drought.”
In a severe drought, you can have crop or pasture loss, and the fire risk is much higher. We also saw our moderate drought increase by 22%, which means 88% of our area is now considered under at least a moderate drought.
The biggest change in the drought is seen in our western counties. Severe drought is now present in Waller, Austin, Washington, Western Grimes, Southern Brazos and Burleson counties.
We also saw a large change for our northeast counties. You can see that San Jacinto, Polk, Trinity, Eastern Walker, and Houston counties are all now considered in a moderate drought. This is particularly alarming because of how much rainfall we saw in this region in early May.
Check out this drone video from the extreme flooding in Livingston just five months ago. It’s hard to believe they now are back to needing rainfall.
The Winter Outlook for southeast Texas shows below normal rainfall and above normal temperatures in the area through the winter months. Unfortunately, this means we will likely see our drought worsen in the coming weeks and months. A big reason why we are expecting to be drier and warmer is because of a La Niña winter in the forecast. You can read more about what that typically does to our winters here.
If we do not see any rainfall next week, this will go down as the driest October on record for Houston.
Thankfully, we are forecasting a chance for rainfall as we look ahead to the middle of next week. Although it would be a bummer for trick-or-treaters, any rainfall would be beneficial to our soil.
Have a great weekend and send good vibes for some healthy rainfall next week!
