The National Weather Service has new data on temperatures and rainfall out, and several Texas cities are either on track to or have already broken existing records for heat and drought: Houston tied for its hottest year ever, and has had its second driest year ever, with only 21.6 inches of rain. Austin had its […]
The latest drought data from the National Drought Mitigation Center was released today. The numbers haven’t moved much since last week, and while they give cause for some hope, they also show just how far we have left to go: 41 percent of the state is in the “exceptional” stage of drought, the highest level. The […]
And the hits keep coming. There will be no oysters this year in Texas, USA Today reports: “a monstrous bloom of toxic algae looming across the Texas coast has shut down oyster season.” Because of the drought, the paper reports, “the algae could cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in humans and is harmful to fish but […]
It seems counter-intuitive, but victims of wildfires in Texas should be thinking about the possibilities of flood, according to a new report by the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. While rain is a much-needed commodity in Texas these days, too much of it could have destructive consequences. Because of the […]
Earlier this week, we took a look back at the awful year of weather that Texas had in 2011. Now it’s time to look forward, and new winter weather predictions from the National Oceanic and Atsmopheric Administration do not bode well for a possible end to the drought. First, this winter’s weather doesn’t look like […]
Has it always been this hot and dry in Texas? Wildfires, drought, and record heat don’t seem to have stopped folks from moving to the state, but you’d have to forgive them if they arrived in August and turned right around. But the historical record offers some context. First, this year has been, without a […]
Texas has seen a week of rains, freezes and even snow. It’s strange to think back to this summer and the record heat and drought when it feels like we’re living in Illinois right now. (In fact, as of Tuesday, Texas had more snow than Chicago so far this winter.) Some new numbers out this […]
What does the Texas drought mean for your dinner table? Well, beef is going to cost more, especially the good stuff.
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department is asking for millions of dollars to cover money lost during the drought. “A ‘triple whammy’ of record heat and drought, devastating wildfires and a corresponding decline in visitation and revenue has created a critical need for Texas State Parks,” said Carter Smith, the department’s executive director, in a statement […]
(NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies) This map shows rainfall declines during the Mayan civilization as a result of converting forest to farmland. New research by NASA of early droughts in Central America shows that deforestation can lead to droughts. A climatologist at the agency found that ancient civilizations like the Mayans and Aztecs […]
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