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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 to take a look at conditions for our state at the end of May 2020.

This month, I’m once again coming to you from my backyard. On average, May is Texas’ wettest month of the year and also one of the most impactful weather events. A wet May can reduce or eliminate drought conditions across the state, replenish soil moisture heading into the hotter and drier summer months, and set us up for a milder summer with less likelihood of drought development. On the other hand, a dry May can send us into summer with already dry soils, setting us up for even hotter and drier conditions and an increased likelihood of drought development. May rainfall averages three and one-third inches statewide, but it isn't uniform across the state. The eastern third of the state averages more than four inches of rainfall. The central third averages two to three inches, but far West Texas near El Paso averages less than half an inch for the month.

From a rainfall perspective, May 2020 turned out to be good or bad, depending on which side of the state you live on. Many areas in the eastern half of the state got more than five inches of precipitation—shown in red on this map. At the same time, many areas on the western half of the state got less than half an inch—shown in shades of blue on this map. This map shows how drought conditions changed over the last four weeks in response to May rainfall. Green areas experienced as much as a four-class improvement in drought conditions. Yellow and orange areas experienced degradation of drought conditions.

The drought map for the end of May shows the final result. The good news—in southern and coastal Texas, areas impacted by drought have been reduced considerably. The bad news—in West Texas and the Panhandle, drought has expanded. Overall, the area of the state impacted by drought decreased from 16 percent of the state at the end of April to 8 percent at the end of May. Drought went from being concentrated along the coast and in South Texas at the end of April to dispersed in those areas, while growing in the Panhandle in West Texas. Over the summer of 2020, the National Weather Service expects drought conditions to continue to improve in South and coastal Texas and the eastern half of the Panhandle. But drought is expected to persist in West Texas and the northwest tip of the Panhandle.

That concludes our Water and Weather report for May.  In summary, the precipitation pattern in May significantly reduced drought in coastal and southern Texas but triggered drought expansion in the Panhandle and West Texas. Statewide, moderate or worst drought fell from 16 to 8 percent of the state. Going forward, drought conditions are expected to improve during summer 2020, but pockets of drought will persist. Thanks for viewing, and until next time I hope you all stay healthy and safe.