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Dr. Mark Wentzel – Hydrologist, Texas Water Development Board  

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Texas Water Development Board's latest Water and Weather report. I'm Dr. Mark Wentzel, a hydrologist in the Surface Water Division here at the agency. And today, we're going take a look at conditions for our state at the end of June 2020. This month, I'm once again coming to you from my backyard.

June rainfall was generally below average across our state. This map shows that rainfall as a percentage of normal for the month. Orange and red areas received half or less of their normal precipitation. Green and blue areas got more than normal rainfall. Most of the state received below average rainfall with only a few areas scattered across the state and clustered along the coast that benefited from better than average rainfall.

That lack of rainfall took a toll on the landscape, particularly in the Panhandle, where drought intensified significantly. At the end of June, about one quarter of the state is suffering from some sort of drought, the tan and darker colors on this map. The epicenter of drought is the Panhandle where extreme drought is impacting six small pockets shown in red, with the total area of less than 2 percent of the state. That's quite a switch from three months ago. At the end of March, 20 percent of the state was in drought, exclusively along the coast and in South Texas. And 5 percent of the state was an extreme or worst drought.

Our dry June had a negative impact on statewide surface water supplies. We began the month at 87 percent of capacity, more than two percentage points more than what is considered normal for that time of year. During the month, we lost about half a million acre-feet of stored water. We are now at 85.7 percent of capacity, only half a percentage point above what is considered normal for this time of year. Fortunately, the Panhandle and West Texas are entering their wet season.

Thanks to monsoon flow from the Pacific, those areas have their highest monthly average rainfalls in June, July, and August. This year, the National Weather Service expects about average amounts of moisture during the monsoon. That won't be enough to completely eliminate drought in that part of the state. But by the end of September it should bring improvements to all but the northern tip of the Panhandle.

That concludes our Water and Weather report. In summary, the precipitation pattern in June brought below average rainfall to most of Texas. At the end of June, moderate or worst drought is impacting 25 percent of our state, up from 8 percent at the end of May. As we enter the summer months, when we rely on stored water the most, our surface water supplies are about average for this time of year. Going forward, drought conditions are expected to improve but not be eliminated by the end of September 2020. Thanks for viewing. And until next time, I hope you all stay healthy and safe.