Texas Panhandle drought worsens again with no relief expected in autumn

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The Texas Water Development Board reported that drought conditions in the Texas Panhandle and statewide worsened significantly in mid-August, sending parts of the southeastern Panhandle into “severe” drought levels.

The TWDB reported in its most recent “Water Weekly” that drought conditions impacted 30% of Texas in the second week of August, compared to 24% the previous week, 26% three months ago and 71% one year ago.

Drought conditions expanded and intensified across the Texas Panhandle and North Central Texas, with large areas of the region experiencing at least one category of drought degradation in the last week.

Most of the Texas Panhandle counties were experiencing “abnormally dry” or “moderate” drought during the last week, according to the TWDB, though Childress, Hall, and parts of Briscoe counties all reported slipping into “severe” drought levels as conditions intensified.

The TWDB noted that the end of the most recent reprieve marked another fluctuation in severity for the prolonged drought that began in the fall of 2021. Since the start of the drought, its conditions expanded to impact 97% of the state in July 2022 and 86% in June 2023. The drought contracted to its smallest extent since October 2021 during July 2024, but expanded in the last two weeks to its largest impact area since mid-January 2024.

As noted in previous reports, drought conditions in the Texas Panhandle are expected to worsen throughout the next few months and couple with higher-than-average temperatures for a warm, dry autumn on the High Plains.

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