0 Storms that swept across Central Texas last week and dropped several inches of rain were successful in relieving moderate drought conditions in much of the region, according to a map released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Farmers also have benefited from the replenished soil moisture and will see a couple of weeks of growth for seeds that are already in the ground like grain sorghum, said John Nielsen-Gammon, the state’s climatologist with Texas A&M University.
The wet weather also opened up a window of opportunity for farmers to plant new crops, like cotton, a recent crop report shows.
While the latest analysis is good news heading into the drier summer months, don’t celebrate just yet, University of Texas meteorology lecturer Troy Kimmel said.
The relief might be short-lived.
For instance, May tends to be rather wet but no rain is in the immediate forecast, and we’re nearly halfway into the month.
“Unless we get some rain, this (relief) is going to be temporary,” Kimmel said.
The first chance at a widespread rain event won’t come until the week after next, forecasters have said.
“It is interesting last week we had that heavy rain in Austin, especially at Camp Mabry, but the deficit for the year that was erased came back in three days,” Kimmel said.
But in the dry days that followed, Austin’s rainfall deficit since the year’s start is at about a half-inch — and growing.