The latest drought monitor came out on Thursday and we didn’t see any changes in Central Texas but there were some changes to the Hill Country.  Most of us are still in a moderate drought, including the Austin metro and Hill Country, but a severe drought has started to show up in Kerr and Bandera counties. 

Outside of our region, the drought has worsened near Del Rio as the new update puts them into an extreme drought.  Most concerning of all is the Texas Panhandle is blanketed with extreme and exceptional drought and it's been ongoing for months. Amarillo has only had one day of measurable rain (above a trace) since October. The day that it rained was on March 27 and .24 inches was reported. It's been a similar scenario for Borger, Texas, where only 2 days have reported rain... 1/11 (0.01 inches) and 3/13 (0.04 inches). Dalhart, Texas has recorded 4 days of rain since October ... 11/7, 11/8, 1/21 and 4/13.  The highest rain total for Dalhart was 0.14 inches.   

April rain totals in Austin have been pretty low with only 0.15 inches reported which is more than an inch below normal.  Typically April is pretty wet with the severe weather activity, but not this year.  The last few severe weather events produced wind and hail but very little rain.  So far this year we've recorded 5.88 inches but our normal yearly average is 8.20 inches.  

There is some good news to share: We have rain in the forecast for the Texas Panhandle on Friday and for Central Texas/Hill Country on Saturday. Enjoy! 

Meteorologist Mary Wasson 
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