Published: May 24, 2009 10:02 am      

Drought lets up just a bit

San Marcos — San Marcos is still behind half the rainfall the National Weather Service says is average for the city, but what little has fallen has been sufficient to open up a tiny crack in the ongoing drought.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, issued each Thursday, parts of Hays and Caldwell counties have drifted from “Exceptional” to “Extreme” drought.

The May 19 report indicates that statewide, 8.5 percent of Texas remains in the “Exceptional” category, down from 14.9 percent on May 12 and 8.6 percent on Feb. 24. Travis County is completely out of the “Exceptional” category, though Comal and almost all of Guadalupe remain there.

Some 20.5 percent of the state is in the “Extreme” range, down from 23.7 percent on May 12 and 19.9 percent on Feb. 24. Some 31.9 percent of Texas was shown to be without drought; while the majority of the state, 68.1 percent, was classified as “Abnormally Dry.”

At the start of the “Water Year on Oct. 10, 2008, 67.2 percent of the state was not experiencing drought, with only 3.6 percent in the “Extreme” range and no areas characterized as “Exceptional.”

As far as tracking what rainfall there has been this year, local residents have two options. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains a gauge at San Marcos Municipal Airport that puts this year’s total, as of Friday, at 7.95”. The “Weatherbug” station at Travis Elementary lists the total to date as 7.81”. According to the National Weather Service, an “average” year in San Marcos would have seen 14.51 inches of rainfall through May 31.

Here’s a breakdown of the year so far:

• January: .34” at the airport; .38” at Travis. NWS average for January is 2.05”.

• February: .95” at the airport; .74” at Travis. NWS average for February is 2.21”.

• March: 2.36” at the airport; 2.33” at Travis. NWS average for March is 2.09”.

• April: 2.55” at the airport; 3.60” at Travis. NWS average for April is 2.85”.

• May: 1.61” at the airport; .90” at Travis. NWS average for May is 5.31”.

Though May is typically the wettest month of the year, the NWS says 4.84” is average for June and 4.03” for October. Of the year’s remaining months, July is usually the driest, with an average of 2.12”, followed by December, with an average of 2.41”.