AUSTIN, Texas — It's another Thursday in Central Texas, and another new drought monitor has been released. The results, while disappointing, aren't surprising.
We're tracking a 4% increase in areas under a "severe" level of drought, which includes portions of the Coastal Plains counties. We're also looking at an 11% increase in areas in a "moderate" drought. This is due to the serious lack of precipitation in Central Texas, with Camp Mabry now going 48 of the last 49 days without measurable rainfall.
The one measurable rainfall day only measured 0.01 inches, helping make this the second-driest October on record thus far.
But wait, there's hope!
We're tracking a slight chance of showers next Tuesday and Wednesday. While we forecast those chances to be at only 10%, they're still chances nonetheless. This is out ahead of a system that might bring good rain chances for Halloween, so we'll watch this closely ahead of trick-or-treating.
The latest precipitation outlook shows an increased likelihood of above-average precipitation locally and across the Lone Star State.
While the majority of the possible rain wouldn't show up on next week's drought monitor due to the 7 a.m. Tuesday cutoff, we expect November's first drought monitor to show some improvement if rain chances come to fruition.
Stick with the KVUE Weather Impact team for the latest as we track what we hope is some relief on the way with next week's rain. Your seven-day outlook is below.
