Over the next few weeks, the sun will be reaching its highest point into the sky and the days will be the longest of the entire year. If rain and clouds stay away from our area, it’s very likely we’ll see more triple-digit heat and record-breaking temperaturesLCRA Weather Update | Read the complete story
In Austin, rainfall from October through the end of April was only 5.3 inches, the third driest on record since 1856. Rainfall from February 1 through the end of April has been less than an inch, by far the driest February through April period on record for Austin. It was also the warmest April on record for Austin.
The recent storm on May 12 brought some very welcome rainfall to portions of the Colorado River basin, but no real relief from the ongoing drought. Lake Buchanan rose a few inches. The storm had no noticeable effect on Lake Travis. Increased runoff in the river below Lake Travis allowed LCRA to reduce scheduled releases downstream by about 1,200 acre-feet. This saved enough water to supply the City of Austin for less than three days.
With very little rain and frequent periods of strong winds, drought conditions continue to strengthen. According to the National Drought Monitor, on May 10 almost all of the Colorado River basin was in extreme or exceptional drought. All of Bastrop, Fayette, Lee, Colorado and Travis County are in exceptional drought, the most severe drought category. Ditto for Hays County. Along with the lack of rain, temperatures this spring have been running much warmer than normal. Soil moisture is very low, stock pond levels are dropping fast and evaporation rates are high.
This extended period of very dry weather has also seriously impacted inflows to the Highland Lakes. Inflows to the Highland Lakes for the seven month period of October through April are similar to inflows during the worst drought on record, which occurred 1947 to 1957. Inflows for this seven-month period are the fourth lowest on record since 1942. Worse conditions for the same seven months were experienced only in 1951, 1955 and 2000. Inflows in April were the second lowest on record for that month.
2 comments:
Perry can lead a Cheer and get the water here.. Go Perry! Cheer! We said CHEER! GET YOUR POM POMS COWBOY AND CHEER! WE NEED RAIN!!!!
I overheard someone at a local store say their rainwater tank was bone dry and their well was dropping fast. Yet a neighbor keeps 3 ponds filled with groundwater. Outrageous! Must be a rich developer from out of town.
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