Rainfall across Texas and cooler temperatures provided agricultural producers some relief from drought and extreme heat over recent weeks, but most areas remain in a moisture deficit, according to the Texas state climatologist and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomists.
Low stock tank levels around the state were a major concern for cattle producers around the state. While rainfall across Texas helped many areas, surface water availability remained an issue as drought conditions continued. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Courtney Sacco) John Nielsen-Gammon, Ph.D., state climatologist in the Texas A&M College of Geosciences Department of Atmospheric Sciences, said most areas of the state received above-average rainfall during August but were still behind average rainfall amounts for the year.
“We’ve seen drought contraction across the state, and last week’s rainfall should show improvement in the upcoming drought monitor later this week,” Nielsen-Gammon said. “But the rain is over for now. It looks like we’re now entering a dry stretch and have seen all the improvement we are going to see for a while.”
AgriLife Extension agronomists Reagan Noland, Ph.D., San Angelo; Jourdan Bell, Ph.D., Amarillo; and Ronnie Schnell, Ph.D., Bryan- College Station, said the rains helped, but noted their respective regions were still gripped by drought.
The most recent Texas drought monitor map produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska shows reduced drought conditions around the state. The Drought Severity and Coverage Index, DSCI, which ranges from 0-500 and calculates the cumulative drought data for an area, showed the drought peaked at 380 on Aug. 8. The DSCI was 251 on Sept. 1. Weather brought cooler temperatures and much-needed rain to the district. Rainfall was sporadic with trace amounts up to 10 inches reported across the district.