Its Official 2011 Was Driest In Texas History
According to the National Weather Service 2011 was officially the driest year on record in Texas. It was also the second-hottest ever.
The weather service said the average rainfall in Texas in 2011 was 14.89 inches. The previous record low of 14.99 inches of average rainfall was set in 1917. The average temperature in 2011 was 67.2 degrees. The warmest year on record was 1921, when the average temperature was 67.5 degrees, the weather service said.
The prolonged Texas drought is to blame for devastating agriculture and livestock losses, estimated in the billions of dollars. The historic drought has killed as many as half a billion trees, not including those that died in wildfires that scorched some 4 million acres in 2011, the Texas Forest Service has reported.
While some parts of Texas received substantial rainfall during December, 97.83% of the state still remains in severe drought, according to a recent report by the U.S. Drought Monitor. In addition, 32.4% of Texas lingered in exceptional drought, the most extreme category, according to the Drought Monitor.