Texas Panhandle dries out headed into hot, drought-prone summer

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The Texas Water Development Board reported on Monday that the overall area of the state impacted by drought conditions remained mostly the same compared to the previous week, though a less than 1% overall decrease marked the third week in a row that drought across the state has declined.

In the most recent “Water Weekly” report from the TWDB, overall drought conditions across Texas stood at 26% compared to 26% the week before, 21% three months ago and 49% one year ago.

The Texas Panhandle saw an increase in its drought coverage from week to week, to the point where nearly every county outside the southeasternmost corner was experiencing “abnormally dry” to “severe” drought conditions in the middle of May.

Drought conditions were the most intense in the northeastern corner of Lipscomb County, with only Donley, Briscoe, Hall and Childress counties reporting no drought conditions.

The most recent TWDB showed a continued slow decrease in drought conditions in Central Texas but an expansion in South Texas, keeping the overall drought condition distribution across the state mostly stagnant.

Recent rainfall has focused mostly on parts of north central and East Texas that have already been out of drought conditions, noted the TWDB, and the trend is expected to continue through the summer. According to the TWDB and the National Weather Service’s most recent seasonal drought outlook, drought conditions are expected to persist or otherwise expand across the western half of Texas through the end of August.

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