The first couple months of 2026 have been very dry across the majority of Texas. San Antonio, for instance, has received just 1.46 inches of rain so far this year, which is only 39% of the city’s typical rainfall through March 1.
It’s a similar story for many other Texas cities. Austin has received 1.88 inches of rain, while Dallas has recorded 2.24 inches – both less than 45% of their normal rainfall for this point in the year. Laredo has been even drier, with only 0.06 inch of rain thus far, the city’s driest start to a year since 1999.
The lack of rain has caused drought conditions to spread rapidly. On the first day of the year, 53% of Texas was experiencing moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Now, just two months later, that figure has climbed to 80%. Additionally, severe drought across Texas has also nearly doubled, from 23% to 43%…