Drought improvement for the I-35 corridor; still top level drought for the Hill Country

KVUE
Author: Hunter Williams (KVUE)
Published: 11:18 PM CDT May 4, 2023

AUSTIN, Texas — The month of April brought much needed rain and drought relief to Central Texas. Austin recorded 4.18" of rain, which is 1.76" over the monthly average. We are now moving into May, which is historically the wettest month of the year with over 5" of rain on average. 

We are hoping to continue our recent drought improvement this month, but let's start by analyzing our most recent drought monitor updates. 

Below you can use the slider to compare last weeks drought monitor to this weeks update. You'll notice that the 'abnormally dry' conditions east of I-35 have been nearly eliminated, and much of the I-35 corridor has also seen noticeable improvement. 

Unfortunately the Hill Country, which needs the rain the most, has not been so lucky. Just 35 miles separate 'exceptional' drought over western Hays County from no drought at all in northern Caldwell Country.

Let's start with the positive, along and east of I-35 most areas have received anywhere from 3" to 10" of rain over the past 30 days. 30 days ago much of the Austin metro was experiencing 'severe' to 'extreme' drought. Now conditions are only 'abnormally dry', which is considered a precursor to drought. 

The bad news is that much of Gillespie and Blanco counties is still experiencing top level 'exceptional' drought. Most of these areas have managed to pick up rainfall totals ranging from 0.5" to as much as 3" of rain over the past 30 days, but much more is needed before drought conditions end. 

The May rainfall outlook suggests above normal precipitation, and we are hopeful that this should continue to bring drought improvements. However, in the month of May we also need to be mindful of flash flooding.