Texas drought now worsening. Again.

SciGuy blog Houston Chronicle 6/11/09
Texas drought now worsening. Again.

Since March the state's drought had been easing, but we may now begin to see a reversal of that course.

Statistically, the drought peaked in early March, when 100 percent of the state was abnormally dry, 84 percent was in a drought, and nearly 10 percent under exceptional drought conditions. Condition had since rebounded such that, as of last week, only 44 percent of Texas was in a drought, and Harris County was not even "abnormally dry."

Now matters are getting worse again, and the problem is compounded by the fact that we're now approaching summer's maximum heating. According to latest drought monitor just released this morning, 71 percent of the state is abnormally dry, and the areas of exceptional drought are again expanding.

AAS Blotter blog 6/11/09
Three American flights into Bergstrom canceled; others delayed

Thursday, June 11, 2009, 08:38 AM

UPDATE 4 p.m.: Three American Airlines flights from Dallas-Forth Worth to Austin Bergstrom International Airport have been canceled, the airport’s Web site shows. No flights leaving Austin have been canceled, the Web site shows. Several flights in and out of Bergstrom have been delayed.

EARLIER: Several American Airlines flights leaving Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth have been canceled because of bad weather in Dallas, an airport spokeswoman said.

Dallas Morning News 6/12/09
Texas storms flood, cancel flights, shut off power

DALLAS (AP) -- A series of powerful storms packing heavy rains and frequent lightning strikes grounded dozens of flights, left hundreds of thousands without power and caused widespread damage across portions of Texas on Thursday.

No deaths or injuries were reported from the storms that began whipping the Dallas-Fort Worth area Wednesday night with winds up to 70 mph. By the time the storms cleared the city, some areas of Dallas got more than 8 inches of rain.

More than 180,000 homes and businesses were without power Thursday night, said Megan Wright, a spokeswoman for Oncor Electric Delivery