A Good Soaking Rain, But the Drought Isn't Over

Posted: Mon, 5 Dec 2011 12:53 PM - 20,944 Readers

By: Crystal Chavez

http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kut/files/201112/Lake_Travis_018.jpg

photography by KUT News

Central Texans are all wrapped up for this cold and breezy day. We got some much-needed rain over the weekend and through early Monday morning. Most areas got between one and two inches - some places as many as three.

“This rain did percolate into the topsoil which prior to this event had very, very little moisture in it," Bob Rose, Meteorologist for the Lower Colorado River Authority, said. "This is good for our landscape, our trees, wildflowers next Spring. It did put some water into area ranchers’ stock ponds and things like that.”

But a good drenching does not “an end to a drought make.” Rose says the rain didn’t do much to fill area aquifers or the Highland Lakes.

“Lake Buchanan came up about a tenth of a foot and Lake Travis came up about three tenths of a foot so really not a big change at all. Now some of the streams are still running a little bit but in general this was a good soaking rain; it didn’t tend to runoff all that much,” said Rose.

Lakes Travis and Buchanan are still at 37 percent capacity. You can read today's river report from the LCRA here.

The rain did help lessen the wildfire danger. Central Texas would need a lot more rain to end the drought --something on the order of 18-25 inches of rain. Over the next few weeks the forecast calls for some more light rain but the chances for significant rainfall don’t look good.

* Story Contributed by: Crystal Chavez

[edit]

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