Drought in North Texas
It has been a dry winter in North Texas and the outlooks for March don't hold out much promise for much more appreciable rainfall. At DFW Airport, the official weather stat-keeper, there is a deficit of 2.27 inches since the beginning of December. Really it has been dry ever since Tropical Storm Hermine bull-dozed through North Texas back in September. The dormant grass and the increasingly warmer temperatures accompanied by low humidity are leading to official drought conditions over 70% of our state. Much of the eastern parts of North Texas are in severe to exceptional drought. Areas southwest of Forth Worth are seeing severe drought conditions too.
The dry ground in many parts of the state is also leading several counties to issue mandatory burn bans. Outdoor burning in these counties is illegal, including "hot work" - things like welding or using a cutting torch.
We usually see these warm & dry conditions during La Nina years. Right now, there is an established La Nina, the relative cooling of the eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean. The effect this has on North Texas is prominent during Winter and Spring. It usually leads to warmer-than-average temperatures and lower-than-average rainfall locally. If this dry spell extends through much of Spring, we will be in for a longer and more dangerous wildfire season in Texas.
