I know some other areas have been getting some moisture recently , but that's not the case here. Photo is from 2018.

Lubbock area is pretty bad now. And I'm not sure it's the hardest hit.

Pssssttttt.....west Texas is a desert/ari environment

schmellba99 said:

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Pssssttttt.....west Texas is a desert/ari environment

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Yeah, but it's worst than normal right now.

If you want rain... don't live in THE DESERT!!!

Last I saw, La Niña is supposed to be around through August.

For context...

NSFW language

Was out there chasing aoudad this weekend and even after the storm it was pretty crunchy in the high spots.

Midland should have had 5-6" in the last 6 months. Instead they've had 3/4". In 6 months. There's dry and then there's dry.

I could sit under that shade tree by the river with a cooler of beer and be the happiest SOB on earth.

Howdy Dammit said:

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I could sit under that shade tree by the river with a cooler of beer and be the happiest SOB on earth.

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CanyonAg77 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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Pssssttttt.....west Texas is a desert/ari environment

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Yeah, but it's worst than normal right now.

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I hear this every year about this time.

It really isn't - weather goes in long patterns, and what is "normal" is subjective to begin with.

I complain about the rain here on the coast being worse than normal, but deep down I know it isn't. We are just in a particular weather pattern or phase that is bringing more rain than it has over the previous 10-15 years. Pretty soon we'll be in a drier pattern again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Okay, I won't use "normal". It's worse than average. We have over 100 years of rainfall records in the Panhandle, and it's drier than average. That average includes droughts like the 1890s, 1930s, and 1950s. Also includes wet periods like the 1940s and the 1960s.

Howdy Dammit said:

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I could sit under that shade tree by the river with a cooler of beer and be the happiest SOB on earth.

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It was pristine and I couldn't resist the urge to feel that cool river feeling. Sat down & thanked God in the middle of the Devil's River.

I hear the water skiing is very good on Big Lake right now.

Non-Typical said:

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Howdy Dammit said:

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When 2 guys are sitting that far apart in the water you know they are peeing lol

An old rancher is a friend. He grew up ranching in Kerr and Leaky, and I think around rock springs.

He thinks TX is definitely drying up.

Given how much moisture/OM has been lost out of the Great Plains, I think that's quite possible, let alone all the soil destruction which was done in TX/cedars continue to do.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Okay, I won't use "normal". It's worse than average. We have over 100 years of rainfall records in the Panhandle, and it's drier than average. That average includes droughts like the 1890s, 1930s, and 1950s. Also includes wet periods like the 1940s and the 1960s.

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This. Grew up in Eastland County in the 1960s and remember it was much greener than today. Occasional dust storms but hardly any big spring wildfires like we see now.

Heard a good talk by an extension agent.

Said average rainfall is skewed

2 really wet years with 8 years of less than "average" rainfall gets the same average as a consistent amount every year.

Mean…median…mode…

Plan for the mode, enjoy the outliers

Non-Typical said:

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Was out there chasing aoudad this weekend and even after the storm it was pretty crunchy in the high spots.

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That looks like something out of Lonesome Dove. Damn beautiful.

GasPasser97 said:

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Heard a good talk by an extension agent.

Said average rainfall is skewed

2 really wet years with 8 years of less than "average" rainfall gets the same average as a consistent amount every year.

Mean…median…mode…

Plan for the mode, enjoy the outliers

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In my Ag teaching days, I taught about soils, which are affected by climate. I had my students look at the average temperature for our area (Utopia at the time). The average year round temp is 70 degrees. Most of them said "It's never just 70 here." To which I replied "What is the average temp in the summer?' They replied "100 degrees." I asked "What is the average temp in the winter?" They replied "Cold" I said "It's actually right at 40."

Average 100 and 40.

In southwest Texas we rarely see anything average when it comes to climate. Our rainfall pattern is what is called biannual.. Meaning we have rain during two periods each year. In between, not so much. Our long term patterns seem to run on 7-10 year cycles.

One item I always found interesting is the number of days each year it rains 1 inch or more in a day. According to 100+ years of weather records for Uvalde county, that number was one!

Someone summed it up this way: Our weather in Texas is we are in a persistent drought interrupted by infrequent severe flooding events.

Can't believe some folks have already forgotten 2011 & 2012 & are saying this is the worst, or its never been this dry or whatever. Yes it has.

Triple digit temps happen all the time in Texas. It wont rain, then it will flood. Esta Tejas.

Just last May and June we had a tank dam wash out because we got too much rain. This is near Cisco.

Now the same tank is dry. Granted mostly because it's much shallower now that the dam is gone.

The last two storms were frustrating. We did get a but two weeks ago which is nice but last night I saw cells developing right in the path of our property only to miss us. Fun times.

Two inches with small hail in Uvalde last night.

It is time we look at the Israeli model of water conservation and use. They went from being water deficient to a 20 % surplus per year through technology and aggressive water reusage. They currently recycle about 90% of their water. The next most efficient country is Spain at 17%.

They do this by treating sewage/runoff water to near drinkable standards and then piping it to Negev desert farms for use and by using drip irrigation instead of less efficient methods.
https://www.israel21c.org/how-israel-used-innovation-to-beat-its-water-crisis/

Texas is a big state. Water supply and demand in Houston =/= Austin =/= Ozona

UTExan said:

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It is time we look at the Israeli model of water conservation and use. They went from being water deficient to a 20 % surplus per year through technology and aggressive water reusage. They currently recycle about 90% of their water. The next most efficient country is Spain at 17%.

They do this by treating sewage/runoff water to near drinkable standards and then piping it to Negev desert farms for use and by using drip irrigation instead of less efficient methods.
https://www.israel21c.org/how-israel-used-innovation-to-beat-its-water-crisis/

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I've been involved in irrigating with wastewater. The city I worked with pumped 5 million GPD to supply the city.

The wastewater collected was about 1 million GPD. And salt accumulation was always a concern.

Recycling would help, but lots of other factors can help more.

The biggest issues are land use change and too many people mis-utilizing the resource. But, no one ever talks about changes in land use. Just think - woods and grasslands hold more moisture than parking lots or over-grazed pastures.

Texas is indeed running out of water - the dry line moves further and further east every year. When I lived in Abilene, I always heard from old-timers that it was a lot greener...etc and that the now seasonal streams always had water.

The current way water is used in Texas is not sustainable with all the population growth.

Anecdotally, my water bill has decreased significantly during the summer months since I started using drip irrigation as opposed to other methods.

zooguy said:

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The biggest issues are land use change and too many people mis-utilizing the resource. But, no one ever talks about changes in land use. Just think - woods and grasslands hold more moisture than parking lots or over-grazed pastures.

Texas is indeed running out of water - the dry line moves further and further east every year. When I lived in Abilene, I always heard from old-timers that it was a lot greener...etc and that the now seasonal streams always had water.

The current way water is used in Texas is not sustainable with all the population growth.

Anecdotally, my water bill has decreased significantly during the summer months since I started using drip irrigation as opposed to other methods.

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If you study long term (1000s of years) climate history that is stored in our rocks and soil, you will find that the size and proximity of the Chihuahua desert moves in this direction from time to time. We just finished one of the wettest 2-300 years. Most folks who have studied the historical climate for Texas have been forecasting drier times for the last 30 or more years. The increase in population (change in land use) and the accompanying withdrawal of ground water has only increased the speed at which it is changing.

GottaRide said:

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Two inches with small hail in Uvalde last night.

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Bro, 2 inches and small stones might not be something you want to voluntarily bring up.

GottaRide said:

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Two inches with small hail in Uvalde last night.

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Almost 2" near Concan

I'm going to side with the local West Texans in the ag community over the swamp dwellers on the coast in the drought debate.

Also Johnson City got golf ball sized hail this evening. Pea sized hail and dryer than a popcorn fart west of Fredericksburg.

[url=https://ibb.co/vLkvpDV][/url]

4 said:

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If you want rain... don't live in THE DESERT!!!

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People in Arizona are about to find this out. Media isn't reporting it much, but Lake Mead is ****ed.

These ****ing idiots are more concerned to figure who the dead body in the exposed barrel is than why their gonna all go dry.

Just back from Big Bend today. Hope all those oak trees I observed without leaves aren't dead.

Junction71 said:

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Just back from Big Bend today. Hope all those oak trees I observed without leaves aren't dead.

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Was the Rio Grande flowing?