1 00:00:01,392 --> 00:00:03,975 (upbeat music) 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:08,153 [Dr. Mark Wentzel] Hi everyone, 3 00:00:08,153 --> 00:00:09,930 and welcome to the Texas Water Development Board's 4 00:00:09,930 --> 00:00:11,920 latest Water and Weather report. 5 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:13,100 I'm Dr. Mark Wentzel, 6 00:00:13,100 --> 00:00:14,990 a hydrologist in the Surface Water Division 7 00:00:14,990 --> 00:00:16,010 here at the agency. 8 00:00:16,010 --> 00:00:17,670 And today, we're going to be taking a look 9 00:00:17,670 --> 00:00:21,320 at conditions for our state at the end of October 2020. 10 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:23,600 Let's start with a look back at September. 11 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:25,290 This is the map of precipitation 12 00:00:25,290 --> 00:00:27,330 as a percentage of normal for the month. 13 00:00:27,330 --> 00:00:29,850 September wasn't great for West Texas and the Panhandle, 14 00:00:29,850 --> 00:00:31,860 where rainfall was well below normal- 15 00:00:31,860 --> 00:00:34,590 the reds, oranges, and yellows on this map. 16 00:00:34,590 --> 00:00:36,330 But for Central and East Texas, 17 00:00:36,330 --> 00:00:39,090 September brought above-average rainfall to many areas- 18 00:00:39,090 --> 00:00:40,623 the greens, blues, and purples. 19 00:00:41,510 --> 00:00:43,940 Now, let's look at the same map for October. 20 00:00:43,940 --> 00:00:47,090 October rainfall evened things out, but not in a good way. 21 00:00:47,090 --> 00:00:48,960 October rainfall was below average 22 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:50,870 for almost the entire state. 23 00:00:50,870 --> 00:00:53,040 Only a few scattered areas near Amarillo, 24 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,720 west of Wichita falls, and along the Louisiana border 25 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,000 received average or more rainfall. 26 00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:59,910 The rest of the state received below-average, 27 00:00:59,910 --> 00:01:02,900 and in many cases, much below-average rainfall. 28 00:01:02,900 --> 00:01:05,110 For example, Midland received three-hundredths 29 00:01:05,110 --> 00:01:06,020 of an inch for the month, 30 00:01:06,020 --> 00:01:08,800 while San Antonio received twenty-three hundredths. 31 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:10,900 Both those areas and many others in West, Central, 32 00:01:10,900 --> 00:01:13,220 and South Texas received less than 10 percent 33 00:01:13,220 --> 00:01:15,380 of their normal rainfall for the month. 34 00:01:15,380 --> 00:01:17,600 Overall, a very dry October undid 35 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,760 much of the benefit brought by September. 36 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:21,940 Not surprisingly, the U.S. Drought Monitor map 37 00:01:21,940 --> 00:01:24,100 for conditions as of October 27 38 00:01:24,100 --> 00:01:26,420 shows a significant increase in drought. 39 00:01:26,420 --> 00:01:29,660 September had brought us a 23 percentage point decrease 40 00:01:29,660 --> 00:01:32,120 in the area of the state impacted by drought. 41 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,200 October brought an 11 percentage point increase. 42 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,100 That increase would have been much worse 43 00:01:37,100 --> 00:01:39,580 if not for the wet conditions Central and East Texas 44 00:01:39,580 --> 00:01:41,550 experienced in September. 45 00:01:41,550 --> 00:01:42,520 At the end of October, 46 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,430 drought covers 43 percent of the state, 47 00:01:44,430 --> 00:01:47,460 including almost all of West Texas and the Panhandle, 48 00:01:47,460 --> 00:01:50,480 and growing patches in Central and East Texas. 49 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,360 Almost 20 percent of the state is abnormally dry- 50 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:54,810 the yellow areas on this map 51 00:01:54,810 --> 00:01:57,290 indicating they're likely to transition to drought 52 00:01:57,290 --> 00:02:00,640 in the next few weeks if rainfall doesn't improve. 53 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,590 What are our chances for improved rainfall 54 00:02:02,590 --> 00:02:04,380 and some much-needed drought relief? 55 00:02:04,380 --> 00:02:05,720 Not very good. 56 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:07,540 Cooler than normal sea surface temperatures 57 00:02:07,540 --> 00:02:09,630 in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, 58 00:02:09,630 --> 00:02:12,290 known as La Niña conditions, remain in place 59 00:02:12,290 --> 00:02:14,790 and are expected to persist in coming months. 60 00:02:14,790 --> 00:02:17,120 These conditions historically bring the Southern U.S. 61 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,530 and Texas warmer and drier winters and springs. 62 00:02:20,530 --> 00:02:23,020 As a result, the National Weather Service is predicting 63 00:02:23,020 --> 00:02:24,910 almost all of Texas to be in drought 64 00:02:24,910 --> 00:02:27,510 by the end of January 2021. 65 00:02:27,510 --> 00:02:29,550 That concludes our Water and Weather report. 66 00:02:29,550 --> 00:02:31,970 In summary, October rainfall was below normal 67 00:02:31,970 --> 00:02:33,650 across most of the state. 68 00:02:33,650 --> 00:02:34,650 Moderate or worse drought 69 00:02:34,650 --> 00:02:36,660 is impacting 43 percent of the state, 70 00:02:36,660 --> 00:02:39,430 up from 32 percent at the end of September. 71 00:02:39,430 --> 00:02:42,780 Only a relatively wet September for Central and East Texas 72 00:02:42,780 --> 00:02:45,500 prevented drought from expanding even more, 73 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:47,420 but La Niña conditions remain in place, 74 00:02:47,420 --> 00:02:49,630 and drought is expected to cover most of the state 75 00:02:49,630 --> 00:02:51,373 by the end of January 2021. 76 00:02:52,230 --> 00:02:54,130 Thanks for viewing. And until next time, 77 00:02:54,130 --> 00:02:55,980 I hope you all stay healthy and safe.