Experts say central Texas needs plenty of rain to offset severe drought

Tuesday’s rain is expected to be just a drop in the ocean when it comes to a drought that just won’t stop.

FOX 7 meteorologist Zach Shields says more than half of Texas is now in drought conditions.

“The worst is happening here, south and west of Austin, for example, in Hayes, Blanco, Gillespie counties. This is a severe, exceptional drought,” Shields said.

So why isn’t it raining?

“It was La Niña. For the last three years we have had the same weather as in La Niña. It doesn’t happen often,” Shields said.

Right now, Lake Travis is at just over 639 feet. That’s 28 feet below the January average and only 46% full. As these levels continue to drop, marinas have been forced to move their boats and docks.

“It’s a lot of work for us. We have to really give it our all,” said Frank Lee, facilities manager for Paradise Cove Marina in Rocky Range. “Sometimes we have to push off 20 or 30 feet only to fall two feet.”

Paradise Cove had to close its boat ramp, as did many public ramps on Lake Travis. One bright spot: their boat rental business is booming.

“People want to go out on the lake and you can’t launch your boat, you rent a boat,” Li said.

These low levels also mean tighter water restrictions.

“We will only be able to conserve our water in our reservoirs if we all live like Austin residents,” said Kevin Kluge, manager of water conservation at Austin Water.

The city of Austin remains under Level 1 drought restrictions, but Kluge says that could change.

“By June or July, if the weather remains dry or very dry in our watershed, yes, we can move into the second stage of the drought,” Kluge said.

Given that the long-term outlook looks rather dry, relief may be difficult.

“We need these rains to happen every three or four days before we start to deal with the drought in a decent way,” Shields said.

The Lower Colorado River Authority monitors the current levels of Lakes Travis and Buchanan. River Operations Reportas well as projections for the next six months.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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