Downloadable Media

• Download Video
• Download Clean Video (no graphics)
• Download Audio-only
• Download Video Caption

Transcript

Dr. Mark Wentzel – Hydrologist, Texas Water Development Board     

Hi everyone, and welcome to the latest Water and Weather report from the Texas Water Development Board. I'm Dr. Mark Wetzel, a hydrologist in the Surface Water Division here at the agency. And today, we'll be taking a look at conditions for our state at the end of November 2021.

Let's take a look at some of the big water and weather headlines. La Niña conditions, defined as below-average sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific, are in place and expected to suppress precipitation and elevate temperatures in Texas this winter. Following the typical La Niña pattern for Texas, November was warmer and drier than normal for much of the state. At the end of November, drought conditions covered 49 percent of the state, up 25 percentage points from late October. Storage in our water supply reservoirs is at 79.3 percent of capacity, about 1.5 percentage points less than normal for this time of year. Thanks in large part to the persistence of La Niña conditions, drought is expected to expand and intensify in Texas over the next few months.

Similar to last year when La Niña conditions were also in place, November 2021 has been warmer and drier than normal. Let's take a closer look. On these maps, we're looking at November temperature and precipitation relative to what is considered normal. From a water supply perspective, reds, oranges, and yellows mean trouble on both maps. They show areas with above-average temperature on the left and below-average precipitation on the right. November was the third consecutive month that was both warmer and drier than normal for large areas of the state. Those conditions led to the continued expansion and intensification of drought, particularly in the Panhandle and in East and West Texas.

The U.S. Drought Monitor map for conditions as of November 30th shows the third consecutive month with an increase in the area of the state impacted by drought. Near the end of October, 24 percent of the state was in drought. At the end of November, that number had climbed to 49 percent of the state.

Statewide, our water supply reservoirs were also impacted by the warmer and drier-than-normal conditions. The dark line on this chart shows how storage this year compares to minimum, maximum, and median values for the day of the year from data going back to 1990. Also displayed are lighter lines that show how we did in 2020 and 2019. At the end of October, storage was 80 percent of capacity, 1.4 percentage points less than normal for the time of year. Over the course of November, storage declined to 79.3 percent of capacity, which is 1.6 percentage points lower than normal for this time of year.

Where are things headed? In the next few months, drought is expected to expand and intensify across Texas. According to the latest seasonal drought outlook from the National Weather Service, that will lead to drought covering most of the state by the end of February 2022. That concludes our report. Until next time, I hope you all stay healthy and safe.