BRYAN, Tex (KBTX) – Through an atypical helping of early July rainfall, we’ve been able to keep the drought away from a good portion of the Brazos Valley in the newest weekly update from the US Drought Monitor.
Notable changes: severe drought has been clipped away for our northern counties, where many north of OSR remain in the ‘Moderate drought’ category.
The helpful rain from July 4th through early this week has allowed much to remain unchanged from the ‘abnormally dry’ category.
This should make sense, as we’re still nearly 6” under our normal total for this time of year.
However, the early July rain has given us a good half inch above our ‘month to date’ total.
Biggest takeaway: For being at nearly half a foot deficit half way through the year, it’s encouraging to see plenty of green grass around the Brazos Valley.
Even after rain, vegetation can dry quickly.
Fire danger will be increasing quickly (pretty typical in a Lone Star summer) as high pressure builds, and we get a breezy southwest wind next week.
From the US Drought Monitor Website run by University of Nebraska-Lincoln: The U.S. Drought Monitor, established in 1999, is a weekly map of drought conditions produced jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The U.S. Drought Monitor website is hosted and maintained by the drought center.