Water + Weather for August 2026

Transcript

Dr. Mark Wentzel - Hydrologist, Texas Water Development Board

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Texas Water Development Board's latest Water and Weather report. I'm Dr. Mark Wentzel, a hydrologist in the Surface Water Division here at the agency. And today, we're at the Tom Miller Dam in Austin for a special look back at summer 2026, which we'll compare to some of the historical summers going back to 2000.

On this map, we're looking at temperature rankings for the summer of 2026 for each climate region relative to historic data for that region. Good news--this year, none of the climate regions recorded their hottest summer since 2000. Bad news--three of the climate regions did record their second hottest summers. Those regions were the High Plains, Low Rolling Plains, and Lower Valley. Summer 2026 was cooler than only the summer of 2011 for the High Plains and Low Rolling Plains, and cooler than only summer 2023 for the Lower Valley.

On this map, we're looking at total precipitation rankings for summer 2026 versus the summers back to 2000 for each climate region. The High Plains recorded its fourth driest summer since 2000, with less than five inches of total precipitation. Only 2011, with two inches; 2001, with four inches; and 2020, with 4.5 inches were drier for this region.

On this map, we're looking at the rank of Drought Severity and Coverage Index values for summer 2026, compared to historical values for each region. The High Plains region recorded its sixth highest average Drought Severity and Coverage Index for a summer since 2000. Summers that were worse for that region included all the summers between 2011 and 2014, and the summer of 2022.

On this map, we're looking at surface water supply storage rankings for the summer of 2026 compared to previous summers. By this parameter, the Trans-Pecos region had the most miserable summer. Reservoirs in that region averaged 6.6 percent of capacity, the second smallest volume for a summer since 2000. Only the summer of 2013 was worse, with average contents of 5.4 percent of capacity. East Texas also endured quite a bit of misery based on this metric, averaging its third smallest volume at 87.3 percent of capacity--only 2006 and 2011 were worse.

Putting it all together, which region had the most miserable summer in 2026? Third place was a tie between the Low Rolling Plains and East Texas. Both regions recorded their sixth most miserable summers since 2000. Second place went to the Trans-Pecos, which had its fifth most miserable summer since 2000. And finally, the distinction as the region with the most miserable summer for 2026 goes to the High Plains, whose summer 2026 was the fourth most miserable summer for that region since 2000' trailing only the summers of 2011, 2012, and 2022 on our misery meter. Who got last place and therefore had the least miserable summer as measured by our four criteria? That would be the Edwards Plateau, whose summer 2026 was their 16th most miserable or 12th most pleasant summer in the last 27 years. That concludes our report. Until next time, regardless of what kind of summer you may have had, I hope you all stay healthy and safe.