Heavy Rains Remove 'Exceptional Drought' from State of Texas

Recent heavy rains in Texas have eliminated all instances of exceptional drought in the state for the first time in three years.
Recent heavy rains in Texas have eliminated all instances of exceptional drought in the state for the first time in three years.

For the first time since 2012, “exceptional drought” conditions have been completely eliminated from Texas. This news came with the release of the National Drought Summary on May 12.

“In Oklahoma and Texas, large-scale 1-2 category improvements were made after copious rains of 6-10 inches or more were recorded,” wrote Mark Svoboda and Brian Fuchs of the National Drought Mitigation Center.

The D1 and D2 categories indicate moderate and severe drought, respectively. However, Texas had been in the D4 category before the most recent rainstorms, which placed it in the “exceptional drought” range, according to CBS DFW.

During the most recently recorded week, a series of storms moved out of the Southwest and ventured over the Great Plains. The largest amounts of precipitation were measured in Oklahoma, Arkansas and the northern potion of Texas.

“With the Gulf of Mexico wide open, there has been ample atmospheric moisture feeding into these storms,” Svoboda and Fuchs continued. “Severe weather and record-setting rains were widespread on the front end, while areas on the backside of these storms recorded several feet of wet snow.”

The El Nino weather pattern will likely result in a rainier-than-average season for Texas in the coming months, according to the Houston Chronicle. In 2007, El Nino was responsible for one of Texas’ rainiest years on record.

The rainstorms have left some fields in conditions that are too soggy to plant crops. However, wheat, pastures, and rangeland have all benefited in their own ways.