Texas weather: April’s drought was the worst in a decade; may get worse in May

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says the weather pattern for the next month will be warmer than normal and drier than normal across much of the state.

According to Chief Meteorologist Travis Herzog, April’s drought is the most extensive across Texas in about 10 years, similar to 2013 but not as severe as 2011.

Southeast Texas, in particular, is doing better now than it was in 2011, when most counties suffered from severe, extreme, or exceptional drought. Now most of our local counties are considered unusually dry or in moderate drought, but severe drought conditions have developed south of I-10, particularly in our coastal counties.

May is typically one of our wettest months of the year, but if that May is drier than normal, drought conditions will worsen, almost guaranteeing a hotter, drier, and more droughty summer.