MIDLAND, Texas — West Texas has seen quite a bit of rain over the past month, particularly the past week.
So far this May, we've recorded 0.86 inches of rain at the airport, which is more than double the cumulative amount we saw January through April.
So far, our yearly total is at 1.28 inches, which is still well below the average of 3.81 inches for this time of year.
The airport actually missed out on a lot of the rain this past week, as gauges in Midland and Odessa recorded significantly more rain. A gauge in Big Spring even recorded over 3 inches over the past week!
Not everyone received rain however, including Monahans. Overall, most places received a decent amount of rain, which is why our drought has improved over the past week.
We don't have any areas in West Texas under the exceptional category of drought, which is the worst one out of five.
More rain is in the forecast, and as we enter summer, which is our rainy season, we will likely see further improvement.
And with El Niño expected to develop by fall, its possible that we finish 2023 much better than we started.