This year is the wettest on record in North Texas. And the rain won’t go away!
Here’s what you should know about our wet and wild 2015.
1. It’s raining, it’s pouring -- all year long.
As of Nov. 30, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport reported 58.78 inches for 2015. Normally, we see 36.14 inches in a year, the National Weather Service says. We saw 21.32 inches of rain in 2014 and 29.40 inches in 2013.
And we’re just entering December, which means we still have one month to go to fill the rain gauges even more in 2015.
2. November was very wet.
We had the wettest November on record – 9.86 inches. That broke the previous record of 7.94 inches way back in November 1918. We saw much of that rain in the last few days of the month.
Between Thanksgiving and Monday morning, DFW International recorded 8 inches, while areas north of Dallas-Fort Worth saw nearly 12 inches, the National Weather Service says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxybW_eetWc
3. We had a very wet fall.
In September, October and November, 21.82 inches of rain fell in Dallas-Fort Worth. That’s a record, too. The pervious wettest fall was in 1981, when DFW recorded 18.11 inches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsHOeS5Kyzg
4. We also had a very wet May.
DFW International reported nearly 17 inches of rain in May – 17 inches! That smashed the May 1982 record of 13.66 inches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBKaaCq1vNU
5. The drought is over for Dallas-Fort Worth and for much of Texas – at least for now.
More than 90 percent of the state is no longer experiencing any drought – that’s way up from about 60 percent in late August and 34 percent at the beginning of 2015. No parts of the state are experiencing exceptional drought, extreme drought or severe drought – the three worst drought categories.
Less than 1 percent of the state is still in a moderate drought, an area west of Wichita Falls, including Wilbarger and Foard counties.
About 7 percent of the state is considered abnormally dry, including Wichita Falls, which has generated lots of attention for its water woes. At one point, the city was using treated wastewater – called toilet to tap – to boost its water supply. The city eventually stopped using treated wastewater following spring rains.
BREAKING: Flash flood emergency issued for Corsicana, TX until 10 pm! Rainfall closing in on a FOOT @breakingweather pic.twitter.com/AgrCKftrZq — Reed Timmer (@reedtimmerTVN) October 23, 2015
6. The rain will keep falling. Thanks to a strong El Niño, we’ll have wetter weather in Texas over the next few months. Much of the southern U.S. will see wetter conditions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Texas will also see below-normal temperatures in December, January and February.
North Texas forecast
We’ll see a few days of sun. The National Weather Service forecast calls for a 30 percent chance of rain Sunday.
