Moderate drought has made a comeback across a large portion of South Texas after a hot, dry stretch quickly erased some of the rainfall gains from July. The dry spell is landing at the same time heat advisories remain in place, with temperatures staying punishing and little relief in sight.
Justin Horne said yesterday’s high reached 102 degrees and the heat index climbed to 105 degrees, and today should look much the same. Slightly higher humidity could push the heat index above 105 degrees for a few hours, which is part of why the heat continues to feel so relentless even when the thermometer does not move much.
That is the combination that has mattered most this week: brief July rainfall improved conditions for a time, but the drought monitor now shows those gains being erased by the ongoing heat and dryness. In weather terms, moderate drought means the ground and vegetation are drying out again fast enough to show up on the monitor, and the return of that category is a clear sign the break from drought did not last.
Saturday may be the toughest day yet. Temperatures are forecast to reach 103 degrees, making it the hottest day of all, while humidity should ease slightly in the afternoon. A weak front could stir up a storm or two mainly north of San Antonio, but the rain chance is only 10 percent, so most of the area will stay dry.
That leaves the bigger question squarely in front of South Texas: whether the next stretch brings enough rain to slow the erosion or whether the comeback by drought keeps spreading. For now, the hot, dry pattern is doing the louder work, and the July improvement is fading fast.
