By Michael E. Young, The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, released Thursday, shows continued improvements across Texas, but areas of “extreme drought” — the second most severe category — remain in Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
Heavy rains in late July provided enough moisture along the U.S. 380 corridor in northern Denton and Collin counties to put those areas in moderate and severe drought, which despite how they sound, were significant improvements over past readings.
Most of Tarrant remains in extreme drought, as does the western half of Dallas County. Pockets of “exceptional drought,” the worst designation used, remain in the Panhandle, in some of the Red River counties and on the western fringes of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Overall, more than 17 percent of Texas is drought-free — compared with just 5 percent three months ago. Only about 3 percent of the state is now in exceptional drought. Three months ago, more than 21 percent of Texas was in the most severe drought category.
Photo: Glenn via Flickr
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