Interesting Stats on our Drought

When I was at Texas A&M studying meteorology, one of my professors was Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon. Not only is he a professor at the greatest university in the world, Dr. Nielson-Gammon is also the Texas state climatologist.

Just recently, the Texas AgriLife Extension Service interviewed our state climatologist on just how bad our current drought is and where it ranks all time.

"Based on Palmer Drought Severity Index values, this is the third-worst drought Texas has ever seen in the month of May," Nielsen-Gammon said. "Records go back to 1895. May also marks the end of the driest eight-month period on record."

Dr. Nielsen-Gammon also stated in one of his recent blogs that the two worst droughts occurred in the years of 1918 and 1956.

It should be noted that according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly 50% of the state remains in an "exceptional" drought, which is the worst drought category possible. In addition, more than 90% of the state of Texas is either experiencing a "severe" or "exceptional" drought.