Hot
&
August brought more than seven inches of rain to the Houston area, a cause for some relief after a historically hot and dry June and July. However, drought conditions still exist in the area and are expected to linger throughout the rest of the year.
*AS OF AUG. 30
SOURCES: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
dry
Average high temperature in Houston
Total inches of rain in Houston
2022
30-year average
2022
30-year average
94.7
100
10
88
86.7
June had the lowest rainfall total since 2001 (0.08).
80.9
9.42
80
8
7.17
72.8
60
6
62
52.8 51.9
40
4
4.3
N
1.99
2.87
20
2
1.35
1.23
HARRIS COUNTY
0.13
0
0
JAN.
FEB. MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG.*
JAN.
FEB. MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG.*
typical amount, according to the NOAA. August saw more rainfall than it typically does, though temperatures were still hotter than usual. As of press time Aug. 31, about 7.17 inches of rain had fallen in August, and high temperatures were clocking in at 94.7 degrees on average. Over the past 30 years, each August has yielded 4.84 total inches of rainfall over the course of the month on average and sees average high temperatures of 94.5 degrees. In an early August inter- view, Paul Shinneman, farmer education manager with the Houston-based non- pro t Plant It Forward, said the extreme heat and dry- ness have caused challenges during summer months, par- ticularly over the past two years. Plant it Forward helps refugees run urban farms to earn a living, and Shinneman said recent conditions have made it increasingly di cult to work during the day while also raising water bills. “It’s been a while since I’ve remembered this many tri- ple-digit weather days,” he said. “There used to be a little more time before ‘summer’ started.” The Houston area histor- ically gets more rain than other parts of the state, which has somewhat alleviated the severity of the ongoing
drought, Nielsen-Gammon said. September and October tend to be wetter months, which could bring more relief, though he said the odds favor dry conditions. This year’s drought cannot be directly tied to climate change, Nielsen-Gammon said. However, it is likely the explanation behind the grad- ual increase in average tem- peratures over time, he said. Temperatures in Texas this year have been up roughly 2 degrees in all seasons when compared to the 20-year aver- age, he said. “Climate change may be making the di erence between 101 and 103 [degrees] on a particular day,” he said. Heating up Shinneman said Plant it Forward works with eight farmers across its four farm plots, including ones in the Westbury and Braeswood areas. In June and July, the extreme heat led o cials to limit how much time farm- ers were spending outdoors during midday, he said. “It’s nearly impossible to work after 11 a.m.,” he said. The scheduling imple- mented at Plant It Forward is exactly what bosses and supervisors should be doing for anyone who works outside during the summer, said Dr. David Persse, Houston’s chief medical o cer. Although
There has been 5.31 fewer inches of rainfall so far in 2022 than in a typical year.
CONTINUED FROM 1
5 levels of drought Drought severity is measured on a ve-level system.
year,” said John Nielsen-Gam- mon, Texas State Climatolo- gist and professor with Texas A&M University. “That could easily change with a well- aimed tropical cyclone, but that’s a dangerous way of end- ing a drought.” The 2022 summer has been one of broken records in Houston. June averaged a daily high temperature of 86.7 degrees, setting a new record since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion began tracking tempera- tures in 1889. A new record was also set for July with an average high of 88 degrees. Temperatures and rainfall data are measured by the NOAA at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. With the drought expected to linger, the city of Houston is asking residents to voluntarily conserve water. Under a con- tingency plan o cials mon- itor surface water levels to determine when voluntary or mandatory restrictions should The rainfall total in June made it the third driest June on record at 0.13 inches in the Houston region, according to the NOAA. Typically, 6 inches of rain falls in June. July’s rainfall total of 1.35 inches was about 2.5 inches less than the be put into place. Breaking records
NOTE: MAP DATA AS OF AUG. 22
many people hospitalized for heat illness are elderly, a good deal of them are outdoor laborers working on roofs or roads, he said. “If you’re the boss, … early in the summer, you need to adjust your work schedule,” Persse said. “If you’re a jogger, you need to adjust your jog- ging schedule.” Heat illnesses tend to show up in three di erent ways, Persse said: heat cramps, which often present as pain in one muscle; heat exhaus- tion, which is a fatigue that a ects the entire body; and heat stroke, a life-threatening illness in which the body’s ability to cool itself is over- whelmed and the brain shuts down. On average, around 70 Texans died of heat-related illness per year between 1999 and 2018, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention. Between 2018 and 2021, a total of 378 Texans died from heat-related illnesses, according to prelim- inary data. On top of the danger droughts pose to people, they also have detrimental e ects on agriculture, increase water use, enhance the chemistry that leads to air pollution and
Abnormally dry • Producers begin supplemental feeding for livestock. • Planting is postponed. • Grass res increase. • Surface water levels decline. Moderate drought • Dryland crops are stunted. • Wild re frequency increases. • Stock tanks, creeks and streams are low. • Voluntary water restrictions are requested. Severe drought • Pasture conditions are very poor. • Crop yields decrease. • Wildlife moves into populated areas. • Wild re danger is severe. • Burn bans are implemented. • Mandatory water restrictions are implemented.
Extreme drought
• Soil has large cracks; soil moisture is very low. • Crops fail to germinate; yields decrease for irrigated crops. • Supplemental feeding for livestock and herds are sold.
Exceptional drought
• Exceptional and widespread crop loss is reported. • Seafood, tourism and agricultural sectors report nancial losses. • Sensitivity to re danger increases.
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