1 00:00:01,023 --> 00:00:04,106 (lighthearted music) 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:08,420 [Mark Wentzel] Hi everyone, and welcome 3 00:00:08,420 --> 00:00:10,640 to the Texas Water Development Board's latest Water 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:11,690 and Weather report. 5 00:00:11,690 --> 00:00:13,500 I'm Dr. Mark Wentzel, a hydrologist 6 00:00:13,500 --> 00:00:15,760 in the Surface Water Division here at the agency. 7 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:17,570 And today, we're going to take a look at conditions 8 00:00:17,570 --> 00:00:20,520 for our state at the end of September 2020. 9 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,460 As shown in this map of precipitation 10 00:00:22,460 --> 00:00:24,960 as a percentage of normal, September brought plentiful 11 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:26,900 and, in some cases, excessive rainfall 12 00:00:26,900 --> 00:00:30,030 to much of Central, Eastern and Coastal Texas. 13 00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:32,850 For example, Hobby Airport in Houston received more 14 00:00:32,850 --> 00:00:35,270 than 13 inches of rainfall for the month, 15 00:00:35,270 --> 00:00:38,050 about 250 percent of normal. 16 00:00:38,050 --> 00:00:40,320 Meanwhile, the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge 17 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,100 west of Lubbock received only four one-hundredths of an inch 18 00:00:43,100 --> 00:00:46,110 for the month, less than 2 percent of normal. 19 00:00:46,110 --> 00:00:48,290 This rainfall pattern improved drought conditions 20 00:00:48,290 --> 00:00:50,640 in Central, Coastal and East Texas 21 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,500 but degraded conditions in West Texas and the Panhandle. 22 00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:56,170 The U.S. Drought Monitor map 23 00:00:56,170 --> 00:00:58,330 for conditions as of September 29 24 00:00:58,330 --> 00:01:00,790 shows a significant decrease in drought. 25 00:01:00,790 --> 00:01:02,715 At the end of August, drought covered 57 percent 26 00:01:02,715 --> 00:01:03,940 of the state 27 00:01:03,940 --> 00:01:05,890 in a large, almost continuous patch 28 00:01:05,890 --> 00:01:07,800 that covered most of West Texas, 29 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,490 the Panhandle, and Central Texas. 30 00:01:10,490 --> 00:01:12,420 September's rainfall has banished drought 31 00:01:12,420 --> 00:01:14,390 from East and Coastal Texas 32 00:01:14,390 --> 00:01:17,280 in all but two patches in Central Texas. 33 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,280 Unfortunately, 32 percent of the state remains in drought, 34 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,430 with 3 percent of the state reaching exceptional drought. 35 00:01:23,430 --> 00:01:25,120 After some much-needed drought relief 36 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,230 for the eastern half of the state in September, 37 00:01:27,230 --> 00:01:29,530 what can we expect going forward? 38 00:01:29,530 --> 00:01:30,970 The latest Seasonal Drought Outlook 39 00:01:30,970 --> 00:01:32,810 from the National Weather Service for conditions 40 00:01:32,810 --> 00:01:36,200 through the end of the calendar year is not very optimistic. 41 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,700 Instead, they anticipate the drought will expand 42 00:01:38,700 --> 00:01:40,927 to cover the few drought-free spots in West Texas 43 00:01:40,927 --> 00:01:44,280 and the Panhandle and quickly return to most of Central 44 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:45,980 and Eastern Texas. 45 00:01:45,980 --> 00:01:47,533 Why so pessimistic? 46 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,480 Unfortunately, sea surface temperatures 47 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,540 in the Pacific Ocean far to our south 48 00:01:52,540 --> 00:01:54,160 are cooler than normal this fall 49 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,940 and are expected to remain that way through the winter. 50 00:01:56,940 --> 00:01:58,840 Why is that bad news for us? 51 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:00,850 Whenever this condition, known as La Niña, 52 00:02:00,850 --> 00:02:03,200 occurs in the winter, it causes the jet stream 53 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,060 to shift north, bringing cooler and wetter conditions 54 00:02:06,060 --> 00:02:08,600 to the northern half of the contiguous U.S. 55 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,970 and drier and warmer conditions to the southern half, 56 00:02:10,970 --> 00:02:12,790 including Texas. 57 00:02:12,790 --> 00:02:15,040 Currently, about a third of our state is in drought, 58 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:16,740 and our winter is expected to be warmer 59 00:02:16,740 --> 00:02:18,330 and drier than normal. 60 00:02:18,330 --> 00:02:22,100 That's a recipe for drought expansion, not improvement. 61 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:24,380 That concludes our Water and Weather report. 62 00:02:24,380 --> 00:02:27,310 In summary, September rainfall was generally above normal 63 00:02:27,310 --> 00:02:30,350 for Coastal, Central and East Texas 64 00:02:30,350 --> 00:02:33,360 but below normal in the Panhandle and West Texas. 65 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,570 At the end of September, moderate or worse drought 66 00:02:35,570 --> 00:02:39,450 is impacting 32 percent of the state, down from 57 percent 67 00:02:39,450 --> 00:02:41,470 at the end of August. 68 00:02:41,470 --> 00:02:43,500 La Niña conditions are present and expected 69 00:02:43,500 --> 00:02:45,370 to bring Texas a warm and dry winter 70 00:02:45,370 --> 00:02:48,040 and more drought by the end of December. 71 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:48,900 Thanks for viewing. 72 00:02:48,900 --> 00:02:51,798 And until next time, I hope you all stay healthy and safe. 73 00:02:51,798 --> 00:02:52,804 (lighthearted music)