Meteorologists: Texas drought over; LCRA expert: Not in Highland Lakes

by Alexandria Randolph

National Weather Service meteorologists have confirmed the state has received the drought-busting rain event many have been praying for, for years, and yet local officials say the drought is not over for the Highland Lakes region.

Texas overall

National Weather Service meteorologist Kurt VanSpeybroeck said drought conditions have been minimized across the state, and the five years of drought is all but over.

“In the last four to six weeks we have gotten a lot of rain and that has really helped to knock out the drought,” he said. “I think you can qualify that as a drought-buster. In Texas we have a saying that a flood is what ends a drought, and in this case it was no different. It's a pretty typical pattern in Texas.”

For many Texans, the five-year drought was a brutal reality that began in 2010.

In April 2011, then governor Rick Perry signed a proclamation asking Texans to pray for rain. According to the National Climatic Data Center, from November 2010 to Aug. 1, 2011, Texas suffered an estimated $5.2 billion in crop and livestock losses, surpassing the previous annual record loss of $4.1 billion in 2006.

Locally, the drought was the deadliest factor in the August 2011 Spicewood wild fire, which is reported to have consumed roughly 6,500 acres and 60 homes.

Water reservoirs across the state are at a collective 82.5 percent of capacity, according to the Texas Water Development Board, where in May 2014, they were at a collective 66 percent.  

For more on the state of local lakes, see Friday's Highlander.