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Recent soaking rains in Houston has put a dent in the expanding drought in SE Texas

We would still need nearly a foot or more of rain to bust the drought, but every little bit helps!

Most recent drought monitor status (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

HOUSTON – After a couple stormy days of much-needed rain across Southeast Texas, drought conditions are finally starting to show some improvement — just not a full recovery yet.

Rainfall totals for the past 7 days (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

The recent rounds of showers and thunderstorms have helped in a few key ways for Southeast Texas. First, they’ve started to replenish topsoil moisture. They’ve also given a boost to creeks, rivers, and reservoirs, helping stabilize water levels that had been dropping during the long dry stretch.

Most recent drought monitor status (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

But here’s the reality check: we’re still in a drought.

Across Southeast Texas, including the Houston area, most locations remain in severe to extreme drought conditions, and rainfall has been running well below normal for months.

Last week's drought monitor (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

Even with the recent storms, the rain has been somewhat uneven — meaning some neighborhoods got a good soaking, while others missed out.

And one big rain event isn’t enough to fix a long-term deficit. Here’s the thing: It would take consistent rainfall over weeks or even months to truly erase the drought and fully recharge groundwater and reservoirs.

How much rain we would need to bust the drought (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)