Texas is

[Laura PourMeADrink]

Dying.

A 100+ year old pecan tree in my mother-in-law's lawn has died

Lawn's are now hay

Herb's are frying in the heat, even with twice a day watering

The temp has been over ONE HUNDRED for 47 Plus days

Cattle ranchers are depleting their herds -- literally no water to feed them

http://www.lcra.org/water/drought/index.html

The 10 months from October 2010 through July 2011 have been the driest for that 10-month period in Texas since 1895, when the state began keeping rainfall

Governor Perry prayed for rain in April.......

[Firebrand Gary]

1. I am sorry for what your family is going through.

And it will continue to happen until the earth is scorched so long as there is a News Corporation.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Lordy...what can anyone do?? Texas is on the verge of becoming

a desert.....I suppose water could be trucked in...but unlikely..they couldn't even get enough water trucked in for Katrina victims.

[AndyTiedye]

2. Perhaps God and Governor Perry Are Not On Quite Such Good Terms

[Laura PourMeADrink]

3. yes...it's that good evil thing nt

[Taverner]

4. Prayer is slightly less effective than wishing it were so

I hope you guys get rain soon!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. HA...funny. Wishing and praying.....nt

[Redford]

6. we are dying

my pastures are toast, my lawn is toast, I am paying $11 for a fucking bale of hay ( and I will need 150 of them to get my horses thru the winter). Luckily for me, I have the cash to pay for it but so many others do not. I LOVE my state but this is bullshit. Maybe if Bush would move out, the rain would come back?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

11. yes.I bet is DimSon moved out...all would be perfect.....but

seriously...this is a horrible situation....one that no one - but Mother Nature can fix. And, if Texas becomes all desert...

[kentauros]

51. $11 for a bale of hay?!

While I only know that's possibly three times (or more) the normal cost, it makes me think of those people that gouge for basic needs after a hurricane. In that instance, it's against the law. Why can't that be applied here, too?

By the way, I'm in Houston, and while we have gotten some scattered storms in the last week or so, it's still nothing like a good day's rain. Mayor Parker recently put the whole city on mandatory water rationing, though that's also just for things like watering lawns. I don't know if it includes washing cars, but I think power-washing is banned for now, so vehicles are probably included.

Almost two weeks ago I read that we need 15 inches of rain to break the drought. Locally, that would flood us. It needs to rain further north, recharging the rivers, lakes and ponds on down to the coast.

[TexasProgresive]

81. I don't think it is price gouging

There are a lot of factors that go into making hay. Normal times it is the price of fertilizer, diesel, machine cost and labor plus profit that go into the price of a bale of hay. In this drought condition you have to add the cost of irrigation where that was possible and the big big cost of transport from 100s to a 1000 miles.

What is really scary is the prediction that this La Nina is going to go into next spring at least.

For those of you who eat beef expect the price of hamburger to drop as ranchers continue selling off their brood cows and bulls. When they are all gone expect the price of all beef to climb to the sky as there will be no calves born in Texas. With China competing for beef now imported beef will be scarce and expensive.

[kentauros]

113. Okay, thanks for that.

As for the predictions, I've seen anything from the end of this year's September, to well into the year 2012. I don't know who to believe, so I'll just assume it will end when it ends and leave it at that.

[4_TN_TITANS]

145. $11 a bale???

It might be worth your while to drive to TN for a load. Right now square bales are $2.50, pick up in field. We've had a great year for crops.

[Tx4obama]

8. We need lots of rain ASAP

I can barely stand this heat anymore :(

I've been watering my plants, bushes, and some trees twice a day.
Been watering the grass three times a week, but even with the water the backyard is 75% dead.
Something's gotta give soon!

[Horse with no Name]

14. I heard on the radio the other day

They said that it would have to rain for 30 days straight to catch us up to what we need.

Gardens have died, ponds and tanks have dried up, they are giving away livestock on Freecycle, and there doesn't appear to be relief in sight.:(

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. AMEN...it is really getting horribly scary. what is truly amazing is

that there are no sanctions against water use for lawn watering or car washing.

A liberal state would have done that, for sure

[virgogal]

27. I'm in MA and we never have droughts this bad, yet I can remember

at least a dozen water bans,and there probably have been more.

I was really surprised when I saw posts about lawn watering.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. I am from CT...and the difference in the North and the South is so

stark....spent the last two weeks on the CT shore...people are just so much more aware of the issues related to the preservation of the planet.

[butterfly77]

39. If your stupid ass Governor..

doesn't/didn't realize he should have done something to preserve the water before now,imagine what he would do in crisis situations if he were the President.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

44. that's wnhat is so weird to me.....it is not the lack of water - though

you would think the whole state would be on some king of water preservation status. It is about nature - and no rain and not enough preserved water to fix it all. I suppose every citizen could deplete every ounce of water and save all of the natural habitat here>>>

[butterfly77]

49. And he has the nerve to...

say there is no climate change or global warming..

[WolverineDG]

41. Check your local ordinances

San Antonio has very strict water restrictions, and Laredo just went that way as well. My lawn & every other lawn on my street are nothing but sand.

dg

[onestepforward]

67. Houston is under water restrictions.

We can water our lawns, but only 2 days a week before 10am or after 8pm. We'll have further restrictions if we don't get rain. Many neighboring cities are under severe water restrictions.

[cutlassmama]

73. Austin too. And if we're caught watering any other time/day we get a nice

big $475.00 fine for each instance.

[onestepforward]

134. That's about what our fine is too.

We're having a lot of broken water pipes. I heard there were several in Austin too. Texas' ground is just cracking and breaking pipes. :(

[tammywammy]

77. There are big fines if you water outside the restrictions

We have year-round no watering between 10am-6pm. We move to twice a week lawn watering on Sept 1.

[indurancevile]

9. the lord HATES perry. can there be any better evidence? kick the bastard out & it will rain.

unclean! unclean!

[Electric Monk]

10. Brings new meaning to the phrase 'Texas toast'

Any global warming deniers left 'round there?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. Yep ...it sucks since this place is filled with bigots and rednecks...but

there are, maybe, 20-30% good, smart, liberal, intelligent people. Not that the crazies deserve
the shit-storm weather.

[Tx4obama]

15. I'm in Houston, we have more liberals here.

In the 2008 presidential election Obama won the cities/counties of
Houston/Harris, Dallas/Dallas, Austin/Travis, San Antonio, El Paso etc.
The 'only' large metro area McCain won was Ft.Worth

I am just glad that I now live in a liberal area and not in a republican rural area like a used to (years ago I lived out in the country in Ellis County - with tons of acreage and animals).

Hopefully as time goes on Texas will become more and more blue :)

[Laura PourMeADrink]

18. Yes, I was so happy that Obama took those areas. But, throwing

pessimism in the mix....there are SO many stupid people here who listen to
Rush and Fox and that is it. CNN is too librul. They are what Repukes
thrive and count on to pull off election victories. My in-laws are wingnuts
so I know.

[GTurck]

79. Don't hope...

fight for it.
We are in Central Texas near Ft. Hood. Everyone hers is concerned about grass fires and the possibility of Cedar brake fires. It is obvious that the weather is not going to change anytime soon and yet people keep doing the same old things as if they can't accept that global warming is at the heart of the drought. So lots of churches are praying for rain but don't seem to tell their congregations to do something active to change.
Everyone hopes. I don't and never have just hoped for an outcome. I fight for it. We all must.

[TexasProgresive]

82. Is Ft. Hood still burning?

I caught part of a news story about a massive grass fire on Hood possibly caused by a training exercise.

[GrannyK]

131. As of the 10 PM news last night there were two large fires burning

in Fort Hood's large expanse of acreage. The news reported that training maneuvers started one of the fires.

We live just north of Temple in the country. A friend in Waco has a very large Southern magnolia that's losing leaves at the tip of limbs and moving further up the limbs. He's trying to get water around the drip line.

We've got peach trees that are looking limp. We've watered some but can't afford large $200 water bills that we got two months ago. The only time I can bear to be outside is early mornings, from 10 or 11 A M and later it's like walking into a furnace. Waco has broke the former record and is at 69 days of above 100 degree days. And broke the previous record for continuous string of days in a row of above 100 degree days. Quite a few are 105 and a few 107 to 109. I had to bring my desert tortoise inside the house. It's too hot in his little house, even with the insulation we've covered it with.

Most stock tanks are dry. Only the large ones still have some water. We are in the process of installing large rain water tanks. We started with a barrel size and my son brought a large container from his job near Houston that soap was delivered in. We are adding a gutter system to connect it to.

I probably will not be able to hang around and respond. I will be away from the computer until tomorrow afternoon.

[texastoast]

24. Check out the comments

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/politics&id=8311699

My money says a bunch of paid shills are on the blog.

[SammyWinstonJack]

104. You betcha. My repub neighbor. Go figure.

:silly:

[Horse with no Name]

13. I haven't mowed my lawn since May

If it gets high in an area, I just walk across it and break it off.
The hedges are crispy critters.
The trees look like Autumn.

I haven't done any outside chores...it is too hot.

Today I was daydreaming about our snowstorms...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

20. so funny !!!!! if it wasn't so sad. Don't know why...but it just hit

me how seriously desperate this situation is. there really is nothing
that any human could do to help, is there.

[McCamy Taylor]

17. Careful, or Perry's fans will accuse you of Texas bashing.

[Tx4obama]

19. No one I know is a fan of Perry. I can't stand the man.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

22. someone just said that Perry was the "authentic, real" cowboy

that Bush (Dimson) was "faking" to be. UGH...

[Tx4obama]

35. Well he is NOT. See article below

Excerpt:

"I never saw him on a tractor in his life," said one of Perry's old neighbors, who requested anonymity. "And I never did see him on a horse."

Full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/rick-perrys-hometown-paint-creek-haskell-county_n_928552.html

[Laura PourMeADrink]

45. thanks.....he is one hellava creep - surely something the vast majority

of citizen's will realize, for sure.

[coalition_unwilling]

68. Awesome cartoon. Only thing missing is the porn movie store

facade. I didn't think I could hate anyone more than I hated Bush, but Porno Perry is giving Bush a good run for his money already.

[seabeyond]

84. who the hell is a perry fan? or was it the normal texas bashing and you

interpretted it as perry fan?

[Paladin]

147. "Perry's Fans"? Asinine Statement. (n/t)

[w8liftinglady]

21. I can't stand Perry..and am watching my partner's lake die.

cedar creek lake is dangerously low. OC Fisher reservoir in San Angelo is gone(where I grew up).
People are dying because they can't afford their electric bills.
It has nothing to do with Perry, and everything to do with humanity.
Texas is suffering, big time.

Even us.

[Horse with no Name]

54. O.C. Fisher is gone???

:wow::cry:

[w8liftinglady]

62. this is O C Fisher today

[Horse with no Name]

70. Oh my. A little perspective for those unfamiliar with this reservoir

[mod mom]

88. AWFUL! I am so sorry for you guys. Has this changed minds

about climate crisis or are those on the right still buying into the GOP pack of lies?

[w8liftinglady]

90. well, unfortunately, global warming is a "thought"- nothing more.

according to our esteemed politicians here in the Dust Bowl.

[mod mom]

95. You'd think it would have startled them into angry mobs.

Why isn't the governor working on the issue instead of focusing on his own career? Does he want to bring the "Texas miracle" (less regulation, including those pesky job killing agencies like the EPA) to the entire nation?

[MelissaB]

146. Hello from San Angleo!

:hi:
We've only been here a little over a year, but I've never seen anything like this. We thought last summer was bad...

I really don't know if this place is sustainable. :cry:

[w8liftinglady]

155. Hi,neighbor!

I live in DFW now, but went to Central High and ASU.
It breaks my heart. My mom worked for Ft Concho Museum and my dad was stsationed at Goodfellow.I grew up there!

[lonestarnot]

23. Bushitler moved there, now apparently God hates Texas.

Remember that bullshit?

[texastoast]

25. Yeah, but

does he have to bring down the whole rest of the state with him?

[lonestarnot]

30. Oh I see. You like the idea that God hated NOLA.

[texastoast]

37. Sorry

I should have used the sarcasm smiley.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

33. I'm an atheist.

I do, however, believe in science. Texas is just the tip of the iceberg (yeah, I know what I said). This isn't a brand new thing here, it's just the worst to date. We've had repeated increased intense weather patterns since 1996. Maybe even before then, but that's when I started keeping track. In one year we've managed to match a decade long drought of record from the 1950's. That's an unprecedented climate event. We're all in trouble. Everyone of us. Not just the citizens of Texas.

[Hun Joro]

26. We got the word from our city today that no watering is allowed at all.

My orange tree is dropping its fruit. Water pipes are bursting in various locations daily. Some areas have gotten an occasional shower over the past weeks, but they always skip my town. This drought is causing me more stress and fear than the economy has ever done.

[northoftheborder]

29. The city of Boerne, north of San Antonio, has been on.....

Stage 4 of water restrictions for two months now: NO outside watering at all. All the grass is dead, crispy, gardens gone.

[Hun Joro]

31. That's such a beautiful area too. Or was.

[Luciferous]

97. My in-laws live there and everything in their yard is dead. It's a shame, because

last year they spent a lot of money to have their yard landscaped and now it's all gone.

[Tx4obama]

32. You're lucky you even got fruit this year

We had a hot cold hot cold (etc) hot winter this year - I think the trees got confused - I didn't get any blossoms on any of my fruit trees: apricot, grapefruit, lemons.
I did get figs but they became spongy and then dried up and fell off :(

The city's water main broke eight houses down the street the other day - we went out to the road with buckets and scooped up the water that was running down our way and poured it onto the grass :)
Around a 150 gallons of the free water for the berm was a nice surprise, but didn't help too much.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

28. We're dying down here.

Elderly and poor folk are dying from the heat.

Trees are dying. There's no way the state will ever look the same again. Tens of thousands of trees are said to die this year from the drought, and that was the prediction back in May. I shudder to think what it is now. You doubt climate change? I have drought stressed tress that have finally succumbed to the repeated heatwaves and drought since 1996. I can send you pictures. Or firewood, whichever.

Wildlife is dying. I water the birds and the wildlife, but my attempts are doing nothing to stymie the mass die-off taking place across the state. It's not even stopping it in my neighborhood. Then there's the feral cats and dogs. What a sad situation they're in this year. Rabies are spreading from the wild animals infringing on the feral animal's territory. And there's just no food and water. Everything from the lowest level on the food chain on up is in short demand this year. I had a juvenile bald eagle hunting my bird feeder a couple of days ago. He'd normally be fishing in the now dried up rivers. How sad is that?

Then there's the people losing their homes to wildfires. There's more every single day here. Has anyone else noticed how it's more often than the poorest folks without insurance whose homes are being burned to the ground?

Oh, and I can't forget the Agri-industry in the state. The little farmers and ranchers have taken losses like never before.

I wish I had some good news, but I don't. The climate center said barring a massive tropical system, they expect this weather pattern to hold through October of 2012. Yes, I meant to type 2012. It really is that bad down here.


Edit to add: there are several towns already, in this first year of this drought, almost out of drinking water. Imagine what next year will be like.

[gristy]

36. The wildlife, oh my. What can they do? They have nothing without water.

Perhaps those in urban areas can find some water. But those out in the sticks - they are goners. ;(

[Lone_Star_Dem]

47. Out in the sticks is also where most of the wildlife lives.

It also happens to be where the infrastructure is the weakest. There are a lot of little towns barely able to provide for their citizens water needs right now. Sadly, for the most part, the wildlife is not the number one concern.

I saw a fox and a stray cat both drinking from the same water bowl on the Austin news the other day. I guess the wildlife is going to be heading into town where the water is.

[w8liftinglady]

78. My sister works for The Texas Dept of Health

She said they are seeing a HUGE influx of wild animals into neighborhoods- coyotes, bobcats, skunks...with all the lovely rabies that accompany them (her specialty).

[Lone_Star_Dem]

144. Yep. It's a real issue this year.

We actually have a report of a cougar in my area. I haven't seen it, but others have and they've had the tracks analyzed by a professional.

I'm not seeing hardly any skunks or foxes, and very few opossums anymore. They were everywhere at the beginning of the summer then they just started to dwindle. The raccoons have a adapted, as they always do. The baby deer were largely deserted by their mother's because they didn't have enough fluid to produce milk. I imagine similar happened to the rest of the mammals.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

38. Is there anything anyone can do to help?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

50. Not unless someone wants to build an aqueduct from someplace still getting reliable precipitation

Seriously, Texas is on its own on this one. It's a restructuring of the worst kind. The link in your OP is to the Lower Colorado River Authority. They are the managers of the water in the Highland Lakes area. I was shocked off my butt 20 years ago when I realized all the water in the chain is from tributaries. Tributaries which are now dry. Without rain, Austin, and every place before and after Austin relying on the Highland Lakes for water, will simply have to do without.

Did you now that the South Texas Project (nuclear power plants) rely on water from the Highland Lakes to cool them?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

55. So, why is Perry parading around like all is well? Geez, it is beyond

crisis. If only the bright mind funding wasn't slashed.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

58. Because that's all he's good for?

We know Perry for the idiotic, useless, pander-to-every-RW-extremist, figurehead governor that he is. The real question is why have Texans turned a blind eye to the the problems in our state? Partisan politics are a very scary, damaging and real thing in Texas. In another ten or twenty years of this insanity, Texas will be a perfect stage setting for a great disaster flick. And the Republicans in the state will spin it that they brought the Film Industry into the state, thus creating jobs.

[BeFree]

43. That is awful

What Texas has had was a high pressure system sitting over Texas for months now.

Basically a high pressure system is sinking dry air that spreads out in a clockwise circle.

In so twisting like that it pushes moist air away to the edges. You can see what I mean by looking at this 'Steering Currents' map of West Atlantic winds:

http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/dlmmain.php?&basin=atlantic&sat=wg8&prod=dlm1&zoom=&time

Wish you and the wildlife some real rain. But as long as that High remains parked there......

[Lone_Star_Dem]

53. You're correct.

Did you see what happened to the one tropical storm that came over Texas this year? Our atmosphere dried it up like a bounty towel. It never stood a chance against our mega dry air mass.

Most Texans have become well versed in weather. Now, if only they could also become as well versed in climate perhaps they may begin providing for our future water needs. Not that I plan on holding my breath, or anything.

[onestepforward]

65. I've been keeping a bird bath and 2 fountains full of water

for the wildlife. I've never seen woodpeckers come for drink until recently. Even insects are coming for a drink, especially bees and wasps. When I water my potted bamboo, lizards come to the hose with their mouths open. Many people in my neighborhood, including myself, are having a difficult time with insects getting into our homes. Ants have been a huge problem. I think they are looking for water too.

[Horse with no Name]

71. We've been doing the same

but it isn't enough.:(

[Lone_Star_Dem]

143. If you can, it's a great idea to provide food for the wildlife as well.

The grasses have died before they went to seed, and many flowers never bloomed creating a shortage of fruits. There's really not much out there for the wildlife to eat. If you're able it would be a great idea to put out some birdseed, maybe some corn and peanuts, too. Another factor is the migrating wildlife. I'm keeping four humming bird feeders filled and putting out cut oranges and overripe bananas for the birds and butterflies. I've seen bird species that are not usually in my area this year. It's been kind of cool really.

Just be careful you don't lure in a pack of rascally raccoons like I did. If you do, just remember they are wild animals. So long as you respect that and don't treat them like a domestic, things should be fine. Oh, and invest in bungee cords for your trash bins! My lack of those is what lured the buggers in in the first place. :D

[onestepforward]

154. I put out a buffet!

I have a large bird feeder with sunflower seeds and our open compost pile has veggie peals, old bread, etc. added to it daily. I saw a squirrel running up our tree yesterday with a tortilla in it's mouth! In a flowerbed, I've been putting watermelon and cantaloupe peelings. I have 2 hummingbird feeders that even woodpeckers come to. We have a few wild turtles and I've been buying grapes, lettuce and cactus for them or anything else whose hungry :)

Raccoons are rascals! Luckily, no problems. Yes, wild is wild and I enjoy them from a distance. I'm happy that I can help out a little and only wish I could do more.

[sfpcjock]

Sad.

I remember the heat of Austin in 1980, and now it's worse. It's a problem. You'd think the freaks would get the message, wouldn't you. I think they're aiming for Florida and Manhattan under a foot of water. At that point they'll just move, and NYC is located in a blue state for them. Simple.

[unkachuck]

34. Texas is....

....full of Progressives and Liberals that struggle daily against the nasty right-wing forces of evil compounded by a summer of brutal weather....

....they deserve a hearty round of applause and all the help and sympathy we can give them....remember, they are our representatives in the netherworld.

[SammyWinstonJack]

106. We thank you! Much appreciated.

:thumbsup:

[Ezlivin]

119. Sometimes I feel like the last liberal on earth

My wife and I are liberal, atheist vegetarians and feel like we're alone here in the D/FW area. I know that isn't strictly true, but when you are in a sea of SUVs sporting "Bush/Cheney" and "Palin" stickers, you can feel the apocalypse coming.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

42. everything is brown.

We are using timers and soaker hoses to keep bushes and vines alive. It's too hot to get in the swimming pool at 94 degree water temp and the hot tub is set at 95 and is running at 104 from the ambient heat.

My 35 year old camellia bush that my grandmother planted has to be watered. It has beautiful pink big blooms that start in January.

My grandfather once ran the world's largest plum orchard, a couple of miles from here.
He had seven thousand Bruce plum trees.
SEVEN THOUSAND!! And shipped plums all over the world.

My mom made wonderful plum preserves. They barely even grow watermelons around here and I remember peanuts, soy, plums, and peaches. I love plums and prunes.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

46. omg...you made me cry

[Ilsa]

57. Our hottest day this week be Saturday, reaching 103°. The other days

Will be brutal as well, 99-101°. My yard is dying. It's the worst I've ever seen here.

[lonestarnot]

61. 114 here tomorrow or the next day. Now imagine 122 in the shade with a flack jacket, ammo, steal

pot. Ackety! End the wars you bastards!

[Horse with no Name]

72. having the distinct opportunity to live in both places

when they say it is a different kind of heat, they are correct.

Texas is as hot as 105 as Arizona is at 120--and it is much more stifling here.

It is more arid in Arizona (although not as much as it used to be), but the landscape of Texas isn't designed to withstand the heat, whereas the succulents, soil, and foliage in Arizona are.

When this is all through--if it continues the predicted course, we won't end up with Texas as a desert. We don't have the plant life to sustain a desert. We will be an uninhabitable dust bowl.

[SammyWinstonJack]

109. Weather channel had temps for San Antonio sat/sun 107/108.

106 on fri. I grew up in the high desert southern calif.


This heat is much worse then that ever was. I'm seriously trying to come up with a plan to move out of this state.

[Tx4obama]

48. It's almost 11pm and the thermometer on my back patio has dropped down to 94 degrees

No chance of any rain here for the rest of August.
I am really hoping that it will get better in September!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

52. 94? you lucky dog.....nigh time temp here 100....

think the most sad thing is that summer is supposed to be
about fun and outdoors, and barbecues and baseball.

Here,you literally have to forgo all that and wait for fall

[JVS]

56. Maybe hurricane season will bring some rain.

[TxVietVet]

59. Perry's solution: pray to his god, the same one that called him to

be president.

I don't think his god is listening and is punishing Texas for having another conservanazi phony-assed christian for a governor. But, praying is PrettyHair's solution to problems other than just looting the treasury.

[TxVietVet]

60. Most of my yard is dead. The lake is down about 4 feet.

Some folks used to have "lakefront" property and now it's "beachfront property". It's not good. This is one of 3 lakes that are used to help supply Houston with surface water. Lake Houston is almost dry. It's bad. Really bad.

Last month, the forests in the area look like "fall" colors. Actually, trees are so stressed that they have now died. Big oaks just drop huge limbs. Millions of trees are just dead now. Later, if storms run through here, those dead trees will cause damage to homes and power lines. It's not looking good. The forecast is for more of the same into 2012. Unless we get a hurricane. Texas is in bad shape. Luckily, we haven't had too many really bad fires. We've had a county wide burn ban for at least 5 months now. The daily temperature is over 100 degrees. I ride my motorcycle quiet a bit. It's like riding in a furnace exhaust. Nothing but hot air coming off the asphalt and concrete roads.

[MilesColtrane]

63. It looks like autumn.

The leaves on the trees are turning brown and dropping off.

I've given up on the lawn, it crunches underfoot. Just trying to save my few hedges with intense watering.

I don't think they'll live though. The life is being baked out of them.

No relief in sight...no relief in sight...

[Firebrand Gary]

64. Texas, this is for you.

http://youtu.be/JUVqUz8m2PQ

[blkmusclmachine]

66. "God" is punishing TX:

I have it on good word that She doesn't like big hair, Holy Rollers, hypocrites, or Texas A&M losers.

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

69. well we could use public funds to damn rivers (currently flooding) to ...

direct water to newly drilled aquifer recharge wells and attempt to fill the large blue area in map of the attached link. but that might create a job....

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/es1406/es1406page10.cfm

[lunatica]

75. The tragedy is that there are things that could be done to help

But there's a singular lack of vision in our government. This will just make those mediocre politicians want more austerity. When times are bad the incurious and unimaginative make it worse.

[sammytko]

74. Our small town blew out its only working well, but we are not on severe water restrictions

We were without water for a couple of days. Our only working well went out a couple of times. They've set up temporary pipes from another well to the storage tank. The storage tank that goes with the working well can;t be used, so it has to be piped in to the good tank.

Looks like we finally have grant money to fix the bad tank.

But, we can still water twice a day! Its not a water problem we have, but a getting the water out of the ground problem. We are surronded by grass farms that pump water on their sod all day long. There are farmers with nice green fields for their livestock. If you can afford to pay the elctric to run the pumps to water your fields you are OK. Most of them belong to a co-op so their bills are lower.

We are a small town south of san antonio - been in the news a lot lately due to our water woes, but once the water is on, everyone waters their grass. WEll, not everyone, those that can afford the high water costs. We are trying to build up a reserve to pay for water system repairs. Our water bill runs about 150 or so a month.

Our aquifer usage is down compared to the same time last year. We are on the Carrizo-Wilcox. We are sparsly populated, so guess that is why we are not as strictly regulated as the San Antonio area.

The only reason they restrict us now to twice a day is to lessen strain on the one pump.

[Uben]

76. Oh bullshit

TExas is hot and sometimes dry. This happens about every thirty years or so, expect it. I have lived in Texas all my life. Heat and drought are a part of Texas life...always has been.
The American southwest has been unusually wet the last ten thousand years. The norm is much dryer, so people shouldn't act as if this is some kind of apocolypse, it's not. It's a drought year....nothing more.

[TexasProgresive]

85. I'm 61 and have lived nearly my whole life in Texas

I can never remember a drought so deep in East Texas and the Upper coast.Those areas average 55-60 inches of rain a year. In the 50s our part of Texas suffered from what they called the 7 year drought- I don't think that one comes even close to this one.

[w8liftinglady]

86. I worked for The Texas Animal Health Commission in 1980

as a livestock inspector near...OC Fisher reservoir.

Um,no... the 80's was nothing like this.

[Uben]

89. Since you were a toddler, I doubt you remember 1950

This drought has not been as bad as the one we had a few years ago where I live. I live on a lake, so it's pretty easy to judge the severity by water levels. We're no where near where we were a few years ago. The water level is still 4 to 5 ft above where it was then. I was born in the early fifties myself. I grew up on a farm, and our lives were directly affected by drought. It very well may be the worst drought you have seen. I don't know where you are at.

A dryer climate is the norm for the American southwest. It has been unusually wet the last ten thousand years, and the climate is due to change back to a dryer one. This is no surprise to any climatologist. Arizona, Southern Cal, New Mexico may become uninhabitable in the next thousand years or so due to a water shortage. Hey, it's a desert!

I don't want to lessen the severity of this drought though. It is a bad one. The ponds are dry, lake levels are dropping like a rock, and I'm sure the water table in the aquifers is dropping fast, too. Ranchers are already having to buy hay, and since it has been so dry in Texas, they'll have to buy it up north, and it costs to ship it down here. Round bales are running anywhere from $90 to $150 here, and the price will get higher as we near winter. I have a buddy who is drilling a water well to water his cattle. They drink about ten gallons a day each and his last pond is a mud puddle. (he owns what was my granddads ranch).

Let's just hope we bust this drought soon.

[Horse with no Name]

91. have you seen this map?

In my lifetime I haven't seen it this bad.:(

[Major Hogwash]

112. Jesus, it looks completely burned up.

How can they have any grass grow there when it is that hot for so long?

[w8liftinglady]

114. um...the grass is dead... all over.At least in North Texas.

[kentauros]

117. As a matter of fact, they can't.

USDA Farm Service Agency reports

Most of those have to do with Texas counties. If you need a list of our counties to help find all of the pertinent articles, try here.

[Uben]

116. Yes, I have seen it....

..we're lucky to be where we are. I have never seen a map like this in prior droughts, so a comparison isn't possible for me.
It'll change, and when it does, it'll probably all come at once!

[kentauros]

107. "Southwest" is an ambiguous term.

Growing up here, we never called Texas the "southwest". If anything, we were more often associated with simply "the south" and more appropriately, "south-central". We're in the middle of the continent. How is that "west"?

Also, you might want to look up the definition of desert before designating all of Texas in such a way. Here are some maps to help you see the difference. (Most are too large to post as images here, so you'll just have to click on the links.)

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropmap/texas/maps/TXeco3.html

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/pwd_bn_w7000_0120/

http://web2.iadfw.net/danb1/climate.htm

Perry-Castañeda Library - Map Collection
(The name has nothing to do with goodhair.)

By the way, if you were born in the "early fifties" I doubt you remember 1950 either ;)

[cory817]

133. Texas is Southwest

It is off subject, but Texas for the most part is considered part of the southwest, and is often referred to as so.

Southwest Airlines based and started in Texas, Southwest Conference was all Texas schools, Southwestern University, UT Southwestern a large hospital/medical school in Dallas, most Western movies take place in Texas, several examples.

There is a large cultural divide between the South(GA,MS,AL,LA) and Texas, and Texas has a lot more in common with other southwestern states like NM,OK,AZ,CO,NV and even CA, in both climate and culture. I think most people consider "southwest" to be states with historical Spanish and Mexican influence, as opposed to what direction it is.(I understand your original point that it doesn't make sense directionally). But I think since the population centers of the US were primarily in the East, they considered Texas West.

[kentauros]

136. While I know many don't like it when someone uses Wikipedia,

I have no problem with them and will use it now:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_United_States

According to the caption under the first image on the right, The U.S. Census Bureau considers Texas and Oklahoma part of the South, not the Southwest.

Plus, I was using personal, family-preference in self-designation for our area of the country. You'll likely get different answers from different people. I will continue to call us South-Central, because that's what we are. Matters not to me what the "official" designations are, or how it's determined by population densities.

Oh, where does Texas Southern University fit into all that, too?

Personally, I call the "Mid-West" the "Mid-East" because it's midway between the central states and the eastern states. I just don't say because I know no one would get it unless I explained each and every time ;)

Welcome to DU by the way :hi:

[cory817]

149. re- Texas Southwest

That wiki explains it pretty well, and includes in the second line that the "broad" definitions includes Texas. I agree though that it makes more sense to call it south-central geographically..

I guess my only point was that there is a big cultural difference between Texas and the "Old South" like Louisiana and Mississippi, but I think most people know that anyway. The food, art, people, attitudes, accents, recreation, all that stuff. Texas is more western while LA/MS are more southern, Texas/Spanish LA/French etc., that's all I cared about.

[kentauros]

152. You're right and I agree with that difference

or disconnect between us and the "Old South". We certainly never celebrated any of that growing up. Our "battle celebrations" were and still are for our fight for independence, similar to the US :)

However, our culture also includes a lot of European influence, especially from the Germans and Czechs. Texas might not have been the state it is today without the Germans.

I read this site every now and then, when I need to know the history of a place or person in Texas:
The Handbook of Texas Online

I think this whole question of whether we're "southwest" or not depends wholly on who you parents were, and how you were brought up. I just don't recall us ever describing Texas as part of the Southwest. We were (and are) simply, Texas :D

[TexasTowelie]

153. Agreed.

Thanks for mentioning Southwestern University--I'm a 1987 alum. Go Bucs!

Southwestern is also the birthplace of the Bright Light Social Hour, winners at the 2011 Austin Music Awards during SXSW (no, it doesn't stand for SeXShoW).

Back and Forth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_qv21l3ILU

They will be touring in the Midwest in September and the East Coast in October.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

138. You don't realize this drought has exceeded the DECADE long drought of record of the 1950's

This drought is worse in one single year than the near decade long accumulated drought of record in the 1950's. That's what makes this one so severe. It's not normal, not by a long shot. We're in uncharted territory, and that's not bullshit. It's the new reality.

[sammytko]

87. i remember a few years ago, we had what I called a year without summer -

It seemed like it rained almost every darn day! Nothing grew then either. My tomatoes all turned to mush.

[CleanGreenFuture]

124. I called it that too. It was really weird, wasn't it? Rained

all the time and low summer temps.

[texastoast]

93. Never has there been a spring and early summer like this

Since I've been around here. It rains here in April and May and almost always in June. Yes, we've been hot hot. 1980 is very memorable, but this amount of dry for Houston I don't believe is on the record.

When down in South America recently, I heard the same thing, only about too much rain. At least the people I met have a clue and aren't afraid to use the term global warming.

Would you share your link about the precipitation in the Southwest?

[CleanGreenFuture]

123. Oh bullshit. All the grass to the west and southwest of DFW is gone for

the first time I can ever remember. Nothing but dirt and dead cactus carcasses out there.

[LanternWaste]

126. I think you conflate the terms norm and aberration.

"he norm is much dryer, so people shouldn't act as if this is some kind of apocolypse, it's not. It's a drought year....nothing more..."

I think you conflate the terms norm and aberration.

[MilesColtrane]

127. The record books say that you are wrong, sir.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

135. love the way you put that ! nt

[florida08]

80. Brutal heat and humidity

Minnesota has had 3 digit temps. Midwest and south have been in the grips of high pressure keeping temps up. July broke over 900 records across the country. But it's been hammering Texas for months. Wish I could send Irene in your general direction.

Looks like the middle of the country is on fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=16kMdnlEDAw

"The heat index easily surpassed 100 degrees in many places: 126 in Newton, Iowa; 120 in Mitchell, S.D.; and 119 in Madison, Minn., according to the Associated Press."

Looks like is going to lag on
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/

[seabeyond]

83. i water in middle of night once ever 8-10 days.... about an acre. grass is barely hanging on

did last night. got up this morning and sprinklers still going. rushed to shut off. what in the world happening. been conserving on water so... now this. clueless what happened cause dark when i got up, but oh, the water bill.

sittin here perplexed this morning.

it is miserable, hot, dry and miserable.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

94. Is there a water ban there? None in Waco...guess because

there is so much water in Lake Waco - however the level is way down. What's really sad is that the summer is passing by and it's too hot to enjoy it - like we are all prisoners in our homes.

[seabeyond]

96. i think air has caught up twice in this house since may. hot all the time

i hate it hate it hate it. i tell hubby, i stay in more summer than the rest of the seasons. our water down in lake and stopped that a while ago. went to well. but heard they are soon implementing a water ban, why i wanted to get one more water in.

hubby following it all. i am not, not really.

they stopped watering city (parks, schools) in june. or watering very little.

it is just the water bill is horrendous. last year i had one at 685. they swore accurate, i stopped watering. the rain can do it. ooops, no rain.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

100. Holy shit...$685? Gotta be a leak, no?

[seabeyond]

103. i had water come out twice and

two plumbers that would work on house check on it. we found nothing.

i swear they screw us and guess usage at times, and there is nothing we can do.

why i am so weary adn afraid of what happened last night, lol

[mod mom]

92. link to US drought monitor:

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

[OneGrassRoot]

98. I am so sorry for all the suffering. This is a situation that makes us all feel...

so helpless.

:cry:

:hug:

:grouphug:

[Laura PourMeADrink]

99. guess all you can do is wait it out. what ever happened to cloud

seeding?

[kentauros]

108. That only works if you have clouds.

:P

Plus, you need enough humidity in the air for it to latch onto the chemical or particles. In other words, you need clouds in order to seed them ;)

[w8liftinglady]

115. fwiw, they have tried cloud seeding here in Texas... to no avail.

[deaniac21]

101. Scientists believe that droughts have been a recurring theme

in North America for over 4500 years. Here are a few of the worst recently:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/drought/drght_history.html

[SammyWinstonJack]

102. It's horrible here. The heat is unending. No relief in sight.

It's getting worse, in fact. This weekend, temps of 107/108. x(

[supraTruth]

105. I grew up in Pecan Park, a suburb of Houston; I wonder how it is fairing.

The whole neighborhood has pecan trees; we had 1 in each of the front & back yards that gave the big pecans, & when I was very young I remember my Dad planting a grafted 1 that have small pecans. We were always shelling pecans & had LOTS of pecan pie, my favorite these days (lemon meringue was my favorite back then; my grandmother always cooked 2 for family occasions, 1 for every1else & 1 for me).

Difficult to understand why the CONS are so against believing that we should do ANYthing to alleviate GlobalWarming/Storming whether it is a natural cycle or not; I personally believe with ALL of the vehicles in the world & the slash&burning of the jungles in S.A. that people do add to the problem, which is why I believe the only war we should be waging ANYwhere is 1 on TRANSPORTATION:

http://prpmt1.webs.com/systemdescription.htm

[fishwax]

110. delete -- dupe

[fishwax]

111. brutal summer -- i hope you get rain soon

:bounce:

[ceile]

118. We've been following the City watering schedule

and it's not enough. We have a rose bush and a rose "tree" that may not make it. The rose tree has been there for decades.
My friend has been selling off his herd like crazy. THey'll keep selling until there's just a few heffers and a bull calf. 80 head gone in about 6 weeks.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

121. too bad about the roses...Someone told me that to keep something

alive in this heat you have to cool the actual plant leaves off with a water spray 4-5 times a day.

[SammyWinstonJack]

120. Local on the 8's updated forcast for San Antonio sat 111 degrees.

:wow: :nuke: This summer has been brutal and absolutely NO fun at all.

[CleanGreenFuture]

122. I live beyond the western outskirts of the Metroplex. A little further west, south-west,

where it's usually green/brownish pastures in the summer, all the grass is dead down to the dirt and even the cacti are dead. It's like a wasteland or desertification.

[LaurenG]

125. The state of Texas now looks like El Paso?

I am sorry for the problems Texas is having.

[MilesColtrane]

128. Looking for something green...

[ZombieHorde]

129. Wow, that sounds terrible. I imagine people in high risk health groups,

such as many elderly people, are having an extremely difficult time.

I really hope Texas gets rain soon.

[w8liftinglady]

132. we are seeing a LOT of heat-related deaths

[kentauros]

137. I use this satellite image-loop of water vapor

to help me determine how near we are to any rain:

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/PCPN/DATA/RT/na-wv-loop.html

It's been doing that for at least the whole month, too. Swirling all around us and rarely venturing inside of our borders...

[SammyWinstonJack]

140. Do you think these 100+ temps will subside with the high pressure in place? Or does that have to

break first?

[kentauros]

141. From what I've read, it has to break first.

It's keeping out any system that could cool us down, and drying out the air, too. As it swirls, it moves any water from the interior to the outer edges, and we lose that much more water. About the only thing I can imagine that can break it during the summer will be at least a Cat-1 hurricane. We've already seen what happens to a Tropical Storm with "Don"...

[Lone_Star_Dem]

142. They'll eventually subside as the season changes.

It's not as if we're not going to get cooler this Fall/Winter. We will. It's just going to take more time than usual for us to begin to see any cooling. Part of the issue is our ground is dry so deep down, the radiant heat from the soil is warming up the atmosphere. As the sun moves further away from our part of the earth (the Autumnal Equinox) with the coming Fall season, and the days begin to shorten, we will begin to cool down again though. However, they're saying we won't get our Fall/Winter rains this year. Here, our rainy season starts in October, which they're predicting to be as dry as our previous one at this point.

[lovuian]

130. they are still in denial about global warming

its crazy

[Lone_Star_Dem]

139. The pervasive mentality is if they deny it it's not real.

Even the people who don't deny it kept saying they'd be dead before it had an effect on their lives.

There are too many people standing knee deep in water gazing up at the pyramids around here. Not just here, really. That mentality is coast to coast and even worldwide. It just smacks of extra stupidity when they're living the reality of climate change on a daily basis.

[fascisthunter]

148. not stupidity but crazy

this is what crazy does... crazy can't deal with reality, so it makes up it's own reality to fit whatever they want.

[sammytko]

150. Are y'all mulching trees and plants?

I planted 3 live oaks, a little gem magnolia and an olive tree. The olive doesn't care if it gets watered, but the others are mulched well and are really growing. I also mulched my big flower bed with a truckload of cedar mulch. My vincas, Mexican petunias, blue salvia, and red/pink salvias are blooming beautifully
Also have a desert willow with nice flowers. I set up a mr. Landscaper mini mister in the bed.

[ScreamingMeemie]

151. We had a water main bust last week...and people were carrying pitchers

to water their plants.

I have taken to only watering my foundation these days. It's too late for the lawn.

[workinclasszero]

156. Governor Perry prayed for rain in April.......

Apparently God answered his prayer, eh?

Maybe he ought to try doing what Jesus said instead of worshiping money, political power and greed.

Maybe if teabaggers stopped destroying the working class, elderly, poor and sick, God might hear them?

Guess that big political/religious show Perry and the 7 mountain heretics put on a few weeks back in Texas wasn't appreciated either.