Rain Brings Relief but San Antonio Continues to Struggle with Extreme Drought

Rain Helped, but San Antonio Still Faces Extreme Drought

Hey there, San Antonio! We’ve got some updates about our weather situation. After what seems to have been an endless stretch of dryness, many of us were probably starting to wonder if the rain would show up at all. Well, good news: it has! Since November kicked off, San Antonio has welcomed a total of 1.66 inches of rain. Now that’s a refreshing change when you consider that’s more rain than what fell in both September and October combined!

But Is It Enough?

It may feel like we’re on the road to recovery, but unfortunately, it’s still not quite the happy ending we’re hoping for. San Antonio remains in the grip of an *extreme drought*, which is no laughing matter. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, this drought level is the second most severe category that’s been issued. And San Antonio isn’t alone in this struggle; places like Hondo, Boerne, New Braunfels, and even Austin are feeling the dry pinch as well.

What’s the Rainfall Looking Like This Year?

So far in 2024, San Antonio has recorded 22.96 inches of rain. It’s actually a bit of a bright spot since that’s more than we managed to collect in either 2022 or 2023. However, there’s still a cloud looming over us; we’re currently sitting at 6.09 inches below average for this time of year. Typically, we expect about 32.38 inches of rain throughout the year, so looking ahead, we’d need a whopping 9.42 inches before the end of the year to hit that average mark!

What Could That Mean for Us?

Now, before you start dreaming up rain dances, keep in mind that expecting that much rain in such a short span of time might do more harm than good. Just picture it—a sudden downpour could lead to some serious flooding in our beautiful South Texas region. Instead, if we could score between 4 to 6 inches of rain before we ring in the New Year, that would be a welcome improvement to our drought situation without turning our streets into rivers.

What’s the Weather Looking Like This Weekend?

On a brighter note, if you’ve got outdoor plans this Sunday, you’re in luck! There are no rain clouds in sight, and we’re expected to enjoy some lovely weather. The day will start off cool, with morning temperatures hovering in the upper 50s to around 60 degrees in San Antonio. By 9 a.m., we’ll be basking under mostly sunny skies with temperatures climbing to 70 degrees and reaching a pleasantly warm mid-80s in the afternoon! How nice is that?

What’s Coming Up Next?

As we roll into the next week, mornings should remain lovely with low temperatures in the low 60s. The afternoons will feel quite delightful in the low to mid-80s. There’s a chance we might see a weak cold front coming through sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday, but don’t get too excited—it looks like it’ll only bring a slight dip in those warm temperatures.

As for rain? Well, that looks to be out of the picture until at least next weekend when a possible weather system might saunter in. Fingers crossed it brings us some much-needed moisture!

Remember, though, while we’re out enjoying the warm weather, we still need to keep the drought conditions in mind and conserve our water where we can. Let’s all do our part!

So until the next weather update, soak in those sunny days, San Antonio!