by SEAN KIMMONS
Although delayed, prayers for rain are being answered as storms rolled through the area this week, dropping more than an inch in some parts.
Despite a break from dry weather, the recent rains hardly made a dent in the ongoing drought that has plagued the region.
There is a good chance for more rain Wednesday before the region likely goes under another dry spell, National Weather Service forecaster Robert Blaha says.
“We’ll go into an extended drier period after this week,” said Blaha, adding that January’s long-range forecast favors slightly dryer conditions than normal. “It will be interesting to see the trends. Sometimes they change, sometimes they don’t.”
The closest rain gauge to Kyle and Buda, at Austin-Bergstrom Airport, recorded 1.39 inches of rain from Dec. 13 to Dec. 20, while Camp Mabry in Austin had 1.13 inches in the same timeframe, the National Weather Service station in New Braunfels reported.
As of Tuesday, Austin-Bergstrom’s total rainfall so far this year (15.49 inches) is considered to be the third driest year since 1943. The airport is almost 16 inches below its average rainfall. Camp Mabry’s total rainfall (18.35 inches) is 15 inches below its average and is being called the sixth driest year since 1856, according to NWS figures.
The recent rainstorms were caused by the jet stream coming off the Pacific Ocean and pushing low pressure systems across the southwest to Texas. The high pressure system that hovered over the region in the summer and produced a hot and sunny climate has been gone since the beginning of the fall, Blaha said.
Although clouds may hang around Sunday, the chances for a white Christmas seem to be as fantastical as Frosty the Snowman. No chances of precipitation are expected and the high temperatures for Christmas Day are slated for the mid-50s with lows in the mid-30s.
The last time the region had snow around Christmas was in 2002 when a trace of the white stuff fell to the ground, the NWS reports.
