Record-breaking Drought 2007-2009

The drought officially started in September of 2007. You’ll notice in the chart below that five of the first seven months of 2007 actually received more rainfall than normal, including a record 16.92 inches in July alone. Then in September, south-central Texas dipped an inch below normal rainfall. That trend continued the rest of the year.

 

The string of dry months continued into 2008, with only March and August receiving more rain than normal. By this point, farmers were beginning to suffer and lake and river levels were plummeting.

 

By 2009, national media picked up the story. In July, NBC Nightly News traveled to south-central Texas. Travis Lake near Austin was so low that NBC showed people climbing down the entry ladders and then walking dozens of feet to reach their boats. At this point, 30% of Texas counties were classified by the Department of Agriculture as being in the most severe stages of drought.

 

Thankfully, the area came under the influence of a cooling weather pattern in late 2009 that brought the record drought to an official close in August. From September 2007 – August 2009, New Braunfels received 24.83 inches of rain. To put that in perspective, the area normally receives 35 inches of rain each year.

Rain continues to fall over south-central Texas at a steady pace in 2010.

 

The area remains under the cooling weather pattern, for now. It is expected to stay that way until June. Then it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the drought will return. Unfortunately, there is no way to accurately predict a drought.