Parts of Texas Nearing Record Dry Streak After Historic Rain This Spring

Linda Lam
Published: August 11,2015



 
After a deluge in May and June rain has become scarce in parts of Texas.
Some cities are now nearing a record dry streak after a record wet spring. Many locations have gone from flood to drought in just two months.
Let's take a look at some of the cities in Texas that have flip-flopped from wet to dry and a few additional impacts.
(MORE: July 2015 Weather Records)

Wet to Dry Cities

No rain was recorded in Waco during July and this rainless streak has continued through the first 11 days of August. The last time there was measurable rainfall was June 30 when 0.01 inches fell. That makes 42 consecutive days with no rain. There are two other Julys on record with no rainfall (1993 and 1930) and the average rainfall for the month is 2.03 inches. This comes after Waco experienced their 11th wettest May, with 9.27 inches of rainfall.
Tyler recorded its driest July on record with no measurable rainfall and no rain has been seen through August 11. At the opposite end of the spectrum May was the wettest on record with 11.83 inches recorded. It was a very wet spring as the city saw its second wettest April with 8.68 inches of rain, and second wettest March with 8.02 inches.
It has not rained in Dallas since July 8 when 0.92 inches of rain fell making 34 consecutive days with no precipitation, making it the longest dry streak since 2000 and placing in the top-ten longest dry streaks on record. This is quite the change from this spring which saw the wettest May on record when 16.96 inches of rain drenched the city. April and June also saw above average rainfall.
(MORE: Texas and Oklahoma Set All-Time Record Wet Month)
Austin-Bergstrom just saw their driest July on record with only 0.01 inches recorded, which beat the previous record of 0.02 inches set in 1994, 1986 and 1951. On the opposite end of the spectrum, May was the second wettest, courtesy of the 13.44 inches of rain that fell. Austin at Camp Mabry saw its second driest July with only a trace measured and this is after seeing their wettest May with 17.59 inches of rain recorded. No rain has been observed through August 11.
Another city that has gone from flood to drought is Houston. Only 0.61 inches of rain was measured in Houston this July, which is 3.18 inches below average. This July, in fact, is the fourth driest on record which comes after the fifth wettest May and eighth wettest June when 14.17 inches and 11.39 inches, respectively, were recorded. The end of May was also marked by extensive flooding in the Houston metro area.
(MORE: May 2015 Was the Wettest Month on Record in the Lower 48 U.S. States)
Del Rio has also gone from one extreme to the other with 0.04 inches of rain in July, tying for eighth driest. May, however, came in third wettest with 10.17 inches falling. Only a trace of rainfall has been recorded for August through the 11th.
Wet to dry is also the story in Lufkin where this April was the wettest on record with 9.38 inches and May took second place when 15.10 inches fell. Big changes have taken place with only a quarter of an inch of rain being measured in July, making it the fourth driest. The dry trend has persisted into August with no rain observed for the first 10 days.

Drought Increasing

Even with the record rain and flooding this spring, drought conditions are already beginning to return to parts of Texas.
The drought monitor update from July 14 had reported just under 3 percent of the state was in any state of dry conditions. This has increased as of the August 4 drought monitor placing more than 27 percent of the state in at least abnormally dry conditions, including 4.61 percent in moderate drought.
Overall, this is still an improvement from where this year started when nearly 39 percent of Texas was not experiencing drought conditions, with 2 and a half percent in exceptional drought -- the highest category -- and more than 10 percent in extreme drought, the second-highest category. As of early August, there are no areas of the state in the two highest drought categories.
The dry conditions have also caused some areas in southeastern Texas to consider burn bans and some areas are instituting water use restrictions.
Heat has also accompanied the lack of rainfall and the longevity of the heat broke records for a few cities in the South, including Jackson, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(MORE: Record Heat Streaks Bake Parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi)
Relief from the heat is on the way this week as an upper-level ridge of high pressure over the southern Plains shifts west. This shift will also bring a slight increase in the chance for thunderstorms.
Drought relief is harder to find in the summer, as the jet stream and track of low pressure systems is usually farther north. Tropical systems are typically what brings widespread rain to Texas in the summer months.
So what has caused the change from wet to dry in Texas?
This spring there was a stagnant weather pattern that brought the jet stream over the region. There was also a steady flow of moisture from the south which led to the heavy rainfall. Heading into summer the jet stream is to the north and an area of high pressure has dominated much of the southern Plains, suppressing the formation of thunderstorms.
One last note: while many Texas cities experienced a very dry July, Abilene actually recorded their wettest July on record. A total of 8.30 inches was measured with 8.26 inches falling in one day on July 7, setting a new record for the wettest day in Abilene.
MORE: Animals Rescued After Texas Floods (PHOTOS)