Texas counties see worst drought on record

At least nine counties see driest times in more than a century

DALLAS – The most parched areas of Texas have been wilting in the blistering heat for two years, but only now is it now official: This is their worst drought in recorded history. Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said Friday that at least nine of the 254 counties in Texas — the nation’s most drought-stricken state — are suffering through their driest conditions since modern record-keeping began in 1895. Making matters worse are the relentless 100-degree days across the southern portion of Texas that has been under drought conditions since September 2007. The impact has been felt most by farmers and ranchers in the nation’s No. 2 agriculture-producing state. Texas officials estimate statewide crop and livestock losses from the drought at $3.6 billion. “We’ve had some dry spells, but not as bad as this,” said Rod Santa Ana with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. “It hurts bad. A lot of these cotton fields didn’t even come up. It’s just bare ground. You’d never know cotton was even planted there.” … Roughly half the state is under some form of drought. About 26 percent — a large swath of Central and South Texas — is suffering through the worst two categories of drought. Texas is the only state in the U.S. with areas enduring the worst category, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture Drought Monitor map. Small areas in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Hawaii are in the second-worst category. For the first time since 1904, the entire cotton crop was wiped out this year in Kleberg County, which borders two of the historically drought-stricken counties in South Texas and has seen only 2 inches of rain since January. The county typically gets 27 to 28 inches of rain in a 12-month period and produces between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of cotton. … In nearby Nueces County, 95 percent of the cotton crop failed, and more than 90 percent failed in San Patricio County. …