from the American Drought Monitor
The heat in the South persisted over the past year, with record-breaking temperatures being recorded in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi’s eastern half. Along the northern Gulf Coasts of Texas and Louisiana, Extreme Drought ( D3) and Exceptional D4 expanded on the map, as well as areas of Severe D2 and Excessive D3 in southern Mississippi.
The most recent U. The percentage of topsoil in Texas was rated short to very short by the S Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) Weekly Weather and Crop Progress Bulletin( 8 / 29 ), while neighboring Louisiana received an 88 % short-to-very-short rating. Additionally, according to Water Data for Texas, the South-Central Climate Division’s reservoirs were 44.2 % full, compared to 35.9 % full for the Edwards Plateau climate division. The National Drought Mitigation Center’s Condition Monitoring Observer Reports ( CMOR ) were reporting hundreds of impact reports from across Louisiana and Mississippi over the previous 30 days in terms of drought-related impacts. With temperatures deviations of 2 to 10 + degrees Fahrenheit above normal, the region’s average temperatures for the week were significantly above average across the majority of the area. With the exception of a few isolated spots of light to moderate amounts seen in Texas( East Texas, Trans-Pecos ), Louisiana, and southern Mississippi, the area was generally quite dry in terms of rain. In South Texas, some locally significant rain was seen in conjunction with Tropical Storm Harold’s land and valuable rain to drought-affected areas.
