A new report on U.S. drought conditions released this week found that much of Texas has plunged into extreme drought conditions. The drought has affected farmers already dealing with high fuel prices.

The Houston Chronicle reports that, “for now the dry weather affected other southeast Texans mainly by raising water bills as they struggle to keep lawns green. But if the dry conditions persist, officials say, the summer could see an increased risk for wild fires and widespread burn bans.”

Last year, much of Texas had a wet spring and early summer, which kept state temperatures relatively cool. But afterwards, Texans had experienced one of the driest fall-winter-spring periods in recorded history. During the past nine months, large portions of Southeast, South and Central Texas have been at least 10 inches behind normal rainfall totals.

State climatologist, John Nielsen-Gammon, said it’s rare for Texas to enter summer in such a parched condition. The prospects for breaking the drought are dim, since the months of June, July and August are usually dry, which leaves farmers in a difficult situation.

To read the entire article from the Houston Chronicle, link here:

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it