SUMMARY: The High Plains and Lower Rio Grande Valley are out of drought, but drought conditions expanded in south-central, central, and north-central Texas. El Niño is still with us and may remain with us through the fall. The Atlantic is expected to have a slightly-less-than-normal tropical season with 13 named storms and 5 hurricanes. The past month has seen drought removal in the High Plains and drought expansion and intensification from south-central Texas up towards
Author: Robert Mace
Robert Mace is the Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Geography at Texas State University. Robert has over 30 years of experience in hydrology, hydrogeology, stakeholder processes, and water policy, mostly in Texas.
leg+water: March Update
Every month during the 86th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature Dr. Robert Mace and Dr. Todd Votteler provide an update on water-related legislation. The key water committees are Water, and Rural Affairs in the Senate (SWRA), and Natural Resources (HNR) in the House of Representatives. Both committees have held hearings and voted on significant water bills since our last update in February. Thus far, legislation related to the flooding impacts from Hurricane Harvey and
outlook+water: March 2019
SUMMARY: Bomb Cyclone Ulmer brought Texas record low pressures for the Panhandle and wind gusts of more than 100 mph. El Niño is still with us with sea surface temperatures projected to flirt with El Niño conditions for the rest of the year. Ulmer dropped some much-needed snow over the Rio Grande headwaters in Colorado. The bomb cyclone that swept across the continental United States the week of March 10th—named Ulmer by the Weather Channel—was
leg+water: February Update
Every month during the 86th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature Dr. Robert Mace and Dr. Todd Votteler will provide an update on water-related legislation. The key water committees are Water and Rural Affairs in the Senate, and Natural Resources in the House of Representatives. Both committees have held hearings since our last update in January. Thus far the hearings have been informational featuring invited testimony from key agencies and other organizations that have a
outlook+water: February 2019
SUMMARY: El Niño is here! El Niño is here! Abnormally dry conditions have spread across much of West, Far West, and South Texas. Precipitation in the headwaters of the Rio Grande on Colorado continues to remain at 25 to 50 percent of normal. The weather sure has been schizophrenic this past month. Austin started last week with freezing temperatures and ended with a record high of 91. Before that, we learned about graupel (when supercooled