SAN ANTONIO – It’s no secret that this year hasn’t been particularly kind to us in terms of rainfall. As we get ready to flip the calendar over to the month of October, here’s a look at our rainfall stats through the first nine months of the year so far.
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DRIEST YEAR-TO-DATE
When you tally up the numbers of how much rain we’ve officially recorded from January 1 to September 30, the total for 2022 comes out to only 8.20″. That makes this year the driest year that we’ve seen in San Antonio to date, followed by 8.88″ that was recorded in 1917 and 9.50″ in 1954.
On average, September is our second wettest month in a given year, with an average total of 3.88″. This September came in well below that number, with only 0.98″ officially recorded at San Antonio International.
In fact, most months in 2022 have come in well short of where they climatologically should have. For example, our wettest month of the year on average, May, came in 3.54″ short with only 0.86″ recorded. Overall, San Antonio is over 16″ below the average amount of rain for the year, to date.
LATEST DROUGHT MONITOR
How is this lack of rain affecting the drought in South Central Texas? As of the latest Drought Monitor update that was released Thursday morning, drought conditions are still in place across the vast majority of the region, with a slight expansion of extreme (3/4) to even exceptional (4/4) drought found along and east of the I-35 corridor north of San Antonio. Moderate (1/4) and severe (2/4) drought still encompass the western portions of the area from the Edwards Plateau to the Rio Grande Plains.
LOOKING AHEAD
Unfortunately, dry conditions are still in the forecast over at least the next week here in South Central Texas.
Looking more long-term, outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center suggest that above average temperatures and below average rainfall will be a theme across the Lone Star State throughout the month of October.
With La Niña conditions forecasted to continue in the Northern Hemisphere through the remainder of the year, this supports the thought that overall drier and warmer conditions will be found in the southern United States into the fall and winter seasons. It’s important to note that we will still find rain, but when we add up the numbers at the end of the coming months, the totals will likely be drier than average.
Here’s hoping we find a pattern change soon! As always, we’ll continue to keep eyes on things in the drought department. Updates can always be found on-air, online, and on your KSAT Weather Authority App.
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