AUSTIN, Texas — Happy Thursday! The latest drought monitor is out, and an interesting development has taken place.
While some areas of extreme southeastern Milam County have now slipped into the "moderate" drought category and portions of the Brazos Valley are now in the "severe" drought category, the remainder of the KVUE viewing area remained unchanged from the week prior.
This is despite many areas getting close to an inch of rain over the past week, according to Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Hydromet data.
And the stagnation of the drought situation is not limited to the KVUE area. Many drought categories saw little to no change statewide, with the exception of a 3% increase in areas not in a drought and a decrease in "abnormally dry" conditions by that same margin. There was also a 1% decrease in areas under the "moderate" drought category, despite the aforementioned areas of southeastern Milam County now falling into that category.
We have been tracking good, beneficial rainfall for the latter part of this week into the holiday weekend, with some areas that could get between an inch to even 2 inches as we head into Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This could allow for drought monitor improvement as a late Christmas present for next Thursday's drought monitor, which will be the last of 2023.
Stick with KVUE for the latest on this Texas drought, which could be on its way to an eventual end, depending on how the El Niño pattern shakes out this winter.
In the meantime, your 7-day outlook is below.
