Yes, I know we've seen some rain this week. At least some of us have. But it has only made a small dent in the growing deficit across Southeast Texas. According to the National Weather Service, several counties have slipped into the "exceptional" drought classification. This means that the drought is having a major impact on agriculture and lakes, rivers and streams are dangerously low. Here's a map of the counties:

The drought classifications run like this: Dry, Moderate, Severe, Extreme and Exceptional. Across the official recording locations in southeast Texas, the breakdown is:

Notice that Pearland's Clover Field is showing a nearly 2" surplus for the year and Hobby Airport is only in a slight deficit of just under an inch. Recent heavy rains in those areas have helped. The problem is that our daily downpours were brief and widely scattered.

I have first-hand experience with drought conditions as I moved here from Georgia, which is still in the grip of a major drought that has lasted over a year. We had water restrictions; not just that you couldn't water on certain days, but you couldn't water at all. Hopefully, we'll see some relief soon, perhaps by Tuesday of next week. And then there's always a tropical system that could come and help us out. But you know the old saying, "be careful what you wish for..."

---

---