Central Texas’ drought status has worsened the past two weeks. We’ve seen little rain so far this month. In fact, only 0.04″ of rain has fallen in Austin at Camp Mabry. The Hill Country and areas east of Austin have been luckier. La Grange saw just under two inches of rain earlier this week.

Here’s the latest drought statement from the National Weather Service.

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1236 PM CDT THU JUN 14 2012

...SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...THE HILL COUNTRY AND RIO GRANDE
PLAINS REMAIN IN ABNORMALLY DRY TO SEVERE DROUGHT STATUS...

SYNOPSIS...
JUNE HAS BEEN DRY ACROSS THE REGION. WE ARE NOW MOVING INTO THE
DRIER TIME OF THE YEAR AND THE LONGER RANGE OUTLOOKS ARE NOT
SHOWING ANY STRONG TRENDS TOWARDS NORMAL...BELOW NORMAL...OR ABOVE
NORMAL RAINFALL FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. WITH THE DRIER THAN
NORMAL CONDITIONS SHORT TERM IMPACTS LIKE WATER RESTRICTIONS HAVE
RETURNED TO MANY LOCATIONS. ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE
TO PROVIDE IMPROVEMENTS IN LAKE AND RESERVOIR LEVELS...THUS
REDUCING THE LONG TERM DROUGHT IMPACTS AND CONTINUING TO MINIMIZE
ANY SHORT TERM IMPACTS.

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) IS CALLING FOR AN ENSO (EL NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION) NEUTRAL PATTERN FROM NOW INTO LATE SUMMER. A WEAK EL NINO IS FORECAST TO BEGIN TO DEVELOP BY LATE
SUMMER AND INTO THE FALL. WITH AN ENSO NEUTRAL PATTERN EXPECTED WE
SHOULD CONTINUE TO SEE A MORE TYPICAL RAINFALL PATTERN.



THE US DROUGHT MONITOR (USDM) VALID JUNE 12TH AND ISSUED ON JUNE
14TH SHOWED THE MAJORITY OF THE AREA IS CURRENTLY IN ABNORMALLY DRY
(D0) TO MODERATE (D1) DROUGHT STATUS. THERE IS A PORTION OF THE
WESTERN HILL COUNTRY...NORTHERN RIO GRANDE PLAINS AND PORTIONS OF
THE COASTAL PLAINS WITH SEVERE DROUGHT (D2) CONDITIONS. AS DRIER
CONDITIONS DEVELOP OVER THE SUMMER...DROUGHT CONDITIONS WILL
LIKELY GET WORSE.

CURRENTLY 68 PERCENT OF THE STATE IS IN MODERATE DROUGHT (D1) TO
EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4). LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF THE STATE
REMAINS IN EXCEPTIONAL (D4) DROUGHT STATUS.

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

FIRE DANGER IMPACTS...

FIRE DANGER IS CURRENTLY MODERATE TO HIGH. AS OF JUNE 14TH...
BURN BANS WERE IN EFFECT FOR 10 COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.
THE COUNTIES WITH ESTABLISHED OUTDOOR BURN BANS INCLUDE
DIMMIT...EDWARDS... FRIO...KARNES...KINNEY...MAVERICK...MEDINA...
UVALDE...VAL VERDE AND ZAVALA COUNTIES.

CURRENTLY ATASCOSA...BANDERA...BASTROP...BEXAR...BLANCO...
BURNET...CALDWELL...COMAL...DEWITT...FAYETTE...GILLESPIE...
GONZALES...GUADALUPE...HAYS...KENDALL...KERR...LAVACA...
LEE...LLANO...REAL...TRAVIS...WILLIAMSON AND WILSON COUNTIES
HAVE LIFTED THEIR BURN BANS.

RESIDENTS IN ALL COUNTIES SHOULD CONTACT THEIR LOCAL COUNTY
JUDGE`S OFFICE OR FIRE MARSHALL BEFORE DECIDING TO CONDUCT
ANY TYPE OF OUTDOOR BURNING.

THE JUNE 14TH KEETCH-BYRAM DROUGHT INDEX (KBDI) SHOWED KBDI VALUES
RANGED FROM 300 TO 500 ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION. VALUES OF 500 TO
600 WERE NOTED ACROSS DEWITT COUNTY.

THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE USES THE KBDI AS A MEANS FOR RELATING
CURRENT AND RECENT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO POTENTIAL OR EXPECTED
FIRE BEHAVIOR. THE KBDI IS A NUMERICAL INDEX CALCULATED DAILY
FOR EACH COUNTY. EACH NUMBER IS AN ESTIMATE OF THE AMOUNT OF
PRECIPITATION...IN HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH...NEEDED TO BRING THE
SOIL BACK TO SATURATION. THE INDEX RANGES FROM ZERO TO 800...WITH
ZERO REPRESENTING A SATURATED SOIL AND 800 A COMPLETELY DRY SOIL.
REMEMBER...THAT FIRE DANGER CAN CHANGE QUICKLY FROM ONE DAY TO
ANOTHER AS WINDS AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY VARY.

AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS...

THE TEXAS CROP AND WEATHER REPORT ISSUED BY TEXAS A AND M
AGRICULTURAL ON JUNE 12 INDICATED...HOT...DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUED
ACROSS THE DISTRICT...EVAPORATING SOIL MOISTURE AND CAUSING THE
GROUND TO CRACK. FARMERS FINISHED THEIR FIRST CUTTING OF HAY...BUT
WERE UNSURE WHETHER THEY WILL GET ANOTHER DUE TO LACK OF RAIN.
MILO WAS TURNING COLOR. DRYLAND CORN WAS EXTREMELY MOISTURE-STRESSED.

CLIMATE SUMMARY...

JUNE HAS SEEN VERY LITTLE RAINFALL AND WARMER THAN AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES.

PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 1, 2012 TO MIDNIGHT JUNE 13, 2012 AND
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL:

                    2012      NORMAL     DEPARTURE     PERCENT
                  RAINFALL    TO DATE    FROM NORMAL   OF NORMAL

AUSTIN MABRY       18.92       15.60       +3.32         121%
AUSTIN BERGSTROM   21.86       13.79       +8.07         159%
SAN ANTONIO        22.74       13.81       +8.93         165%
DEL RIO             8.71        8.35       +0.36         104%

FOR JUNE TO DATE...DEL RIO HAS RECEIVED RECEIVED 0.01 OF AN INCH OF
RAINFALL. THIS IS 1.14 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 1.15 INCHES. THE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JUNE TO DATE IS 87.5 DEGREES. THIS IS 4.3
DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 83.2 DEGREES.

FOR JUNE TO DATE...SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HAS RECEIVED
A TRACE OF RAIN. THIS IS 1.84 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 1.84 INCHES.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT THE SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
FOR JUNE TO DATE IS 83.6 DEGREES. THIS IS 2.1 DEGREES ABOVE THE
NORMAL OF 81.4 DEGREES.

FOR JUNE TO DATE...AUSTIN MABRY HAS RECEIVED 0.04 OF AN INCH OF
RAIN. THIS IS 2.11 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 2.15 INCHES. THE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT AUSTIN MABRY FOR JUNE TO DATE IS 83.2
DEGREES. THIS IS 2.1 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 81.1 DEGREES.

FOR JUNE TO DATE...AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HAS
RECEIVED 0.21 OF AN INCH OF RAIN. THIS IS 1.53 INCHES BELOW THE
NORMAL OF 1.74 INCHES. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JUNE TO DATE AT
THE AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS 81.8 DEGREES. THIS
IS 1.8 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 80.0 DEGREES.

PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...

FOR THE NEXT WEEK LITTLE OR NO RAINFALL IS EXPECTED WITH ABOVE
NORMAL TEMPERATURES.

THE LATEST CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK
ISSUED ON JUNE 13TH AND VALID JUNE 21ST THROUGH JUNE 27TH IS
TRENDING TOWARDS GREATER CHANCES FOR NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES
AND SLIGHTLY GREATER CHANCES FOR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION.

THE LONGER RANGE OUTLOOK FOR JULY 2012 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2012...
CREATED ON MAY 17TH IS TRENDING TOWARDS GREATER CHANCES FOR ABOVE
NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND NO CLEAR TRENDS FOR BELOW NORMAL...ABOVE
NORMAL OR NORMAL RAINFALL. THESE OUTLOOKS WILL BE UPDATED ON JUNE
21ST.

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

WITH THE LACK OF RAINFALL DURING THE FIRST HALF OF JUNE... ALL
LAKE AND RESERVOIR LEVELS HAVE HELD STEADY OR STARTED TO DECLINE
ONCE AGAIN. AS TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO INCREASE...EVAPORATION
RATES WILL INCREASE CAUSING FURTHER DECLINES IN LEVELS.

THE MAIN DROUGHT CONCERNS ARE CURRENTLY LONG TERM HYDROLOGIC
IMPACTS.

THE 7 DAY STREAM FLOW AVERAGES OVER MOST OF THE REGION ARE IN THE
25 TO 75 PERCENT OR NORMAL RANGE. THE RIO GRANDE...SAN ANTONIO...
COLORADO AND GUADALUPE BASINS ARE REPORTING STREAM FLOWS IN THE
10 TO 24 PERCENT OR BELOW NORMAL RANGE. THE LOWER COLORADO BASIN
IS REPORTING FLOWS LESS THAN 10 PERCENT OR MUCH BELOW NORMAL.

RESERVOIR CONDITIONS AS OF JUNE 14TH...

AREA LAKES...RIVERS AND RESERVOIRS REMAIN BELOW NORMAL POOL
ELEVATIONS. AFTER SEEING LEVELS RISE SEVERAL FEET DUE TO THE
RAINFALL DURING THE FIRST HALF OF MAY....LEVELS ARE CURRENTLY
FALLING SLOWLY AGAIN DUE TO REDUCED INFLOWS.

BELOW IS A LIST OF RESERVOIRS WITH THE LATEST ELEVATIONS AND
NORMAL POOLS.

                NORMAL POOL    LATEST ELEVATION    DIFFERENCE
                    (FT)             (FT)             (FT)
MEDINA LAKE        1064.2           1012.0           -52.2
CANYON LAKE         909              904.3            -4.7
LAKE TRAVIS         681              641.9           -39.1
LAKE BUCHANAN      1020              997.8           -22.2
LAKE GEORGETOWN     791              788.3            -2.7
LAKE AMISTAD       1117             1092.6           -24.4

RESTRICTIONS...

THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM (SAWS) IS IN STAGE 2 WATER
RESTRICTIONS. AFTER RISING IN MAY THE EDWARDS AQUIFER HAS ONCE
AGAIN FALLEN BELOW THE 650 FOOT LEVEL SO STAGE 2 WATER
RESTRICTIONS WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT. ONCE A RESTRICTION IS IN
PLACE...THAT RESTRICTION WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR 30 DAYS NO MATTER
WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE AQUIFER LEVEL.

THE EDWARDS AQUIFER IS CURRENTLY READING 647.2 FEET AS OF JUNE
14TH. THIS IS 15.8 FEET BELOW THE HISTORICAL MONTHLY AVERAGE FOR
JUNE WHICH IS 663.0 FEET. THE AQUIFER LEVEL IS 4.5 FEET ABOVE THE
LEVEL OBSERVED ON THIS DATE IN JUNE 2011.

MANY COMMUNITIES ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS CONTINUE TO HAVE
WATER RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE TO DUE LACK OF CONSISTENT RAINFALL
AND INCREASED USAGE. STRICTER RESTRICTIONS COULD BE IMPLEMENTED AT
ANY TIME IF THE DRIER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS PERSIST.

THE BARTON SPRINGS REMAIN IN NO DROUGHT CONDITIONS FOR AQUIFERS
WITHIN THE DISTRICT.

AUSTIN AND SAN MARCOS ARE CURRENTLY IN STAGE 2 WATER RESTRICTIONS.
KERRVILLE IS CURRENTLY IN STAGE 1 WATER RESTRICTIONS. ALL CITIES
CONTINUE TO WARN RESIDENTS THAT STRICTER RESTRICTIONS COULD RETURN
AT ANY TIME IF DRIER CONDITIONS DEVELOP.

LOCATIONS THAT DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE MANDATORY RESTRICTIONS
CONTINUE TO STRONGLY PROMOTE YEAR ROUND WATER CONSERVATION.

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AROUND JUNE 28 2012 OR SOONER IF
NECESSARY.