Texas Declares Drought Over; Texans respond with "Duuuuuh!!!

Well, it's official -- after record-setting rains this summer, The Texas drought is Officially Over:

For more than a decade Texas has been in a drought, but recent rains have dumped a surplus of water across the state. That led state Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon, who is also a professor at Texas A&M University to conclude Texas is officially out of the drought. According to Dr. Nielsen-Gammon, steady rainfall since last August has done away with drought conditions for much of the state.

Central Texas has had so much rain this summer, numerous rivers and lakes are still at or above flood level. Already this year, Waco’s had almost 41 inches of rain, the usual is just over 33.

Dr. Nielsen-Gammon said of the 22 key weather stations in Texas, five have already reached their annual average rainfall amounts, and 2007 is only halfway over. "It's unusual that we've had so much for so long. Often we'll have one or two weeks of the summer that are like this, but it's been week after week," Nielsen-Gammon said. However, he said if there's enough rain to say we're drought free that means there's enough water to cause problems.

In the Central Texas area, many farmers are struggling to salvage crops, like wheat and corn because the ground is too wet. Nielsen-Gammon said the only areas still below normal are in the northern Panhandle, far West Texas and along the eastern part of the state. However, most areas have had enough rain to tide them over until next year, and he said this wet trend is not over.

Meanwhile back in San Antone, The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) continues the Year-Round Drought restrictions we've had for years, even though the Edwards Aquifer is at record levels. Once agin the neo-conservationists get hold of a good thing and run it into the ground, refusing to see the reality around them.

Yeesh!

~~JD~~