Summary: The amount of the state under drought conditions increased considerably from 23% four weeks ago to 43% this week; drought is expected to expand in Texas and the southwest, and higher-than-normal temperatures are expected to continue over the next three months.
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.
outlook+water: El Niño is here, drought is down, reservoirs are (slightly) up
Summary: • El Niño is here and is expected to stay with us through the year.
• Less than a quarter of the state remains in drought. Reservoirs are now 77.2% full but still 7 to 8% below normal.
think+water: Hands across the Edwards Aquifer and climate-smart agriculture
We explore academic articles on the topics of exploring the history of the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program and the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan and investigating carbon sequestration in soils and water management for agriculture in Texas.
think+water: Ecosystem services value, TMDLs and E. coli, and a warming Gulf of Mexico
This month we explore articles on the topics of quantifying the return on investment for protecting land, determining the effectiveness of total maximum daily loads in reducing Escherichia coli in Texas freshwater streams, and investigating seasonal changes in the Gulf of Mexico’s climate trends.
outlook+water: Drought down (but not out), El Niño almost certain this summer, warmer-than-normal temps and near-normal rainfall expected
Summary: Drought down (but not out), with 61% of the state abnormally dry or worse. The Climate Prediction Center’s El Niño Watch continues with a 90% chance of El Niño conditions forming during May-June-July. Warmer-than-normal conditions are expected for the entire state, with normal rainfall for everyone except Far West Texas, where drier-than-normal conditions are expected.