AUSTIN RAINFALL TOTALS LCRA CRACKED
AUSTIN RAINFALL TOTALS LCRA FULL

The water elevation at Mansfield Dam, which forms the lake, was about 639.7 feet above mean sea level, which is 28.9 feet below the historical average for February.

Lake Travis, which doubles as a regional water source and aquatic playground, was considered to be at only 46% of capacity, LCRA data show. An acre-foot is the amount of water it takes to cover an acre a foot deep. As of Sunday, that number was around 1.04 million acre-feet.

AUSTIN RAINFALL TOTALS LCRA FULL

Readings from critical water sources, such as underground aquifers and the Highland Lakes west of Austin, continue to reflect a lack of replenishing moisture from regional watersheds.ĭata from the Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages the Highland Lakes for hydroelectricity and flood control, show the volume of water stored in the reservoir lakes, Travis and Buchanan, would be full at about 2 million acre-feet. How are Austin-area water supplies holding up? 1, gauges at Camp Mabry have measured about 2.94 inches of rainfall, which is about a half-inch short of normal for this time of year. At this point in February, Austin on average would have recorded only 0.78 inch of rainfall, according to National Weather Service data.įor the year to date, though, the city remains slightly below normal for cumulative rainfall. How much rain have we gotten in February?Īustin's pelting by freezing rain and normal rain this month has yielded about 1.68 inches at Camp Mabry, the site of the city's main weather station. Most of Bastrop County, or about 81%, was considered abnormally dry, the lowest level of drought, with only its northern corner drought-free.About 63% of Williamson County remained in moderate drought, which often can mean stunted crops, early cattle sales and increasing frequency of wildfires.About 30% of Caldwell County, or most of its western half, remained in severe drought, which is typified by poor pasture conditions, hard soils and low crop yields.

AUSTIN RAINFALL TOTALS LCRA CRACKED

The southwest corner of Travis County, or about 12%, remained in extreme drought, the second-worst level, which includes cracked soil, decreased crop yields and the need for supplemental feed for livestock.

About 19% of Hays County, along its western border, remained in exceptional drought, which is the worst level of drought and is typified by widespread crop loss and sensitivity to fire danger.

Unfortunately, drought conditions continue to maintain a grip on parts of Central Texas:

Here's what it means for a parched Texas. More: We could say adios to La Niña by spring. It's a drop of nearly 11 percentage points from mid-November 2022 as rainfall became more frequent in that especially dry year.ĭrought Monitor data also indicate that only about 7.1 million of the state's 29 million residents live in drought-stricken areas. This week's percentage is lower than last week by 2 percentage points - the first decrease after rising for four consecutive weeks. Agriculture Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, indicate that drought conditions across Texas have eased slightly, with about 78.4% of the state experiencing drought. Drought Monitor, a joint effort of the National Drought Mitigation Center, the U.S. Here's what we know about drought in Central Texas so far: What is the drought status in Texas?ĭrought data released Thursday by the U.S. But the silver lining on that dark cloud is that we’re seeing drought in Texas receding again and cumulative rainfall totals in Austin trending higher than normal for an otherwise dry winter month.

Not many people have anything good to say about the freezing rain earlier this month that, when it turned to ice, led to power outages across the Texas capital for a week. Watch Video: Austin ice storm freezes net, downs trees and results in power outages

Austin rainfall totals lcra