Austin weather: How much rain would it take to get out of drought conditions?

More rain needed to end drought

With the recent rains, how much would it take to get Central Texas out of the drought? The short answer is, much more.

AUSTIN, Texas - With the recent rains, how much would it take to get Central Texas out of the drought? The short answer is, much more.

Drought in Central Texas

Big picture view:

"We're in our 35th consecutive month of drought. When you look back at the rainfall since January 2022, we're down somewhere between 26 and 30 inches of cumulative rainfall," Tim Loftus, general manager of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, said.

He says normal yearly rainfall in Austin is supposed to be about 35 inches. Lower flow hurts rivers, streams, and springs.

"Any of the animals that require readily available water are going to be hurting for that. Everything looks green right now because we've gotten a little bit of rain, but the state of the aquifers is not good," he said.

Central Texas drought conditions

The ongoing drought continues to worsen across Central Texas with cities and towns taking steps to conserve water

The drought also affects lake levels. Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan are a combined 47 percent full. 

"Our reservoirs are obviously very impacted by the low levels of rain we've had over the last couple of years," John Hoffman, Executive Vice President for Water at the Lower Colorado River Authority, said.

Lakes need to be a combined 55 percent full to get out of stage 2 drought restrictions. 

"You're talking about a considerable amount of additional water that we would need to see. That could happen with rain that happens over a couple of days or a couple of weeks, or it could come in one really large rainfall event that happens just over the right part of the watershed," Hoffman said. 

Dig deeper:

Stage 2 drought restrictions were triggered in March, which means outdoor watering is limited to once a week.

If the lakes drop to 37.5 percent full, LCRA moves to stage 3 of drought restrictions.

The last time both lakes were full was in July 2019.

Loftus says while going through drought isn't uncommon in Texas, water demand is changing. 

"It's not terribly unique, but what is, is the considerable growth that's occurring in the region," he said.

What you can do:

With no end in sight to the drought, experts say save water where you can, especially when it comes to outdoor watering.

"I would continue to tell people to really focus on conservation measures through the end of the summer," Hoffman said.

"We just all need to recognize the value of water," Loftus said.