1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:01,500 [Gregory Waller] Texas is known for 2 00:00:01,500 --> 00:00:03,410 going through periods of extreme drought, 3 00:00:03,410 --> 00:00:05,193 followed by periods of floods. 4 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:07,800 And when you're in the drought, 5 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:10,040 then it becomes critical for agriculture, 6 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:11,370 the drought declaration. 7 00:00:11,370 --> 00:00:13,840 The National Weather Service precipitation products 8 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,400 are included by the state climatologist 9 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,590 in the decision-making of where to outline drought. 10 00:00:20,590 --> 00:00:22,770 If you have rain events during this drought, 11 00:00:22,770 --> 00:00:26,440 because drought can mean just lower-than-normal rain, 12 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,060 we want to make sure we're not overestimating. 13 00:00:29,060 --> 00:00:30,420 And the Texas Mesonet 14 00:00:30,420 --> 00:00:33,200 will allow our precipitation estimates to be more accurate, 15 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:34,870 even on the light rain events, 16 00:00:34,870 --> 00:00:37,070 so that we have a better idea 17 00:00:37,070 --> 00:00:39,690 of the soil moisture conditions and the drought conditions. 18 00:00:39,690 --> 00:00:41,210 So, it actually adds accuracy 19 00:00:41,210 --> 00:00:43,290 to the drought products as well, 20 00:00:43,290 --> 00:00:46,993 by having a dense network to verify rain that has fallen.