Rain Expected This Week, But Is It Enough?

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The good news this week is that North Texas is getting some much needed rain. The bad news: rainfall totals will not even be close to helping with our current drought.

Portions of North Texas could see up to 1-2 inches of rain over the next seven days.

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A cold front will move into North Texas, bringing us a few days of rain beginning Wednesday and continuing through the weekend. The forecast shows rain will be periodic.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is currently in severe to extreme drought. The Palmer Drought Index is one of the products used to determine the drought status. It is a measurement of dryness based on recent precipitation and temperature.

Using the Palmer Drought Index, here is a look at how much rain is needed to bring North Texas out of our current drought status.

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The Central Texas area includes the DFW area. According to this index, it will take 9-12 inches of rain to get our soil back to near-normal levels.

Since June 1, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has received 1.52 inches of rain. Normal precipitation from June through Aug. 6 is 6.21 inches, which means we are short by 4.69 inches.

Grant Johnston reported last week that the drought situation has worsened dramatically when compared to August of 2017.

Source: United States Drought Monitor