“The rains have been most helpful, with the greatest amounts being distributed in North and East Texas and parts of the Panhandle,” Miller said. “Drought is still severe to exceptional in about 46 percent of the state, primarily from Central through South Texas. We have had abundant rain in parts of the state, with little to none over large parts. Where we have had rain, the prospects of normal crops and pastures is greatly enhanced.”
Milam County Extension Agent Jon Gersbach agreed that spring showers are helpful, but are not a drought-breaker.
“We are a ways behind to get out of ‘drought,’ but having a slow soaking rain, along with some runoff to recharge stock ponds, was very beneficial,” Gersbach said.
“The 3 to 5 inches last weekend could be classified as a million-dollar rain,” Gersbach said. “It was very timely for corn and milo, as well as for pastures, especially when the late season frost damaged some percentage of many fields.”
Rain will help damaged and replanted corn recover.
The prospect of planting during a drought did not affect crop selection, Gersbach said. Farmers considered crops based on avoiding feral hog damage and economic factors, rather than the lack of rainfall.
“Like the saying goes, ‘Texas is in perpetual drought interrupted by infrequent floods,’” Gersbach said.
Dirk Aaron, Bell County Extension Agent, said freezes, rather than drought, wiped out the wheat crop, and farmers have been advised to file insurance claims and mow it down. River bottom corn also took a hit during freezes in March and April, and many farmers are replanting corn or milo in the bottomland, Aaron said. Bell County’s rainfall is at, below or above average rainfall, depending on the area of the county.
“Drought is not ended by one or two rainfall events,” Aaron said.
Much more rain is needed to replenish the soil profile and produce runoff to fill stock ponds, he said.
Climatologists and drought watchers said factors, including rainfall, runoff, inflows and social impacts must be considered before determining a drought has ended.
“There isn’t just one specific definition or category of drought,” Miller said.
Four types of droughts are monitored: meteorological, hydrological, socioeconomic and agricultural - each as varied as the Texas weather.
Meteorological drought refers to a deficit in precipitation in a given region over a specific period of time when compared to that same time interval over a historical average for that period, while hydrological drought is the effect of reduced precipitation on surface and subsurface water supplies; socioeconomic drought is characterized when reduced precipitation causes an adverse affect on the economy of a region; and agricultural drought, currently widespread through Central and South Texas, is evidenced by dry stock ponds, bare fields and little or no green-up in pastures.
“The agricultural economy in drought-stricken areas of the state is impacted because it’s either too dry to plant crops or the crops are withering, and ranchers are feeding livestock hay or other supplementation when they would normally have green grass and full water tanks,” Miller reported in a press release.
The current agricultural drought has had a significant economic impact on the state with nearly $1 billion in losses so far, Miller said. Meteorological drought is the type most people know about through news and weather reports.
Meteorological drought is usually categorized using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which reflects both precipitation and other hydrological conditions, or the newer Standardized Precipitation Index, which reflects differences in precipitation only over various time scales.
Meanwhile, the state climatologist has forecast an end to the drought as La Nina weakens in May and June and El Nino takes over in the fall, producing a much wetter autumn and winter, said Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon at Texas A&M University.
