A “heat dome” brought extreme dry conditions and drought to Texas in July and early August, but a change in the weather system could help eliminate drought conditions across Central and North Texas, according to a weather expert.
The weather pattern has brought significant rainfall to many regions in Texas including east, southeast, central and southern parts of the state. And it may continue throughout the remainder of the month.
“The forecast pattern for Texas to close August will be transitioning to one that is more late spring-like rather than late summer-like, with a few twists,” Warning Coordinator Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Brownsville Barry Goldsmith said.
The rain and cloud cover will help keep temperatures below average, Goldsmith said.
The rain has not impacted sorghum and cotton harvest in the state, according to Brad Cowan, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent in Hidalgo County. Sorghum harvest is almost complete in South Texas, he said.
Although South Texas received isolated showers this week that slowed some cotton harvesting in the area, Cowan said harvest hasn’t been significantly impacted.
Goldsmith said Rio Grande Valley farmers will likely see the dry weather they need.
“The Valley will likely continue to sit under the remnant core of the ‘heat dome,’ perhaps through month’s end,” Goldsmith said. “That will keep temperatures slightly above the already hot average and limit precipitation during a time when daily average rainfall begins to rise steadily.”
Cowan said, despite the weather, market prices for grain sorghum and cotton could use a push.
Cotton and grain sorghum prices have weakened recently, Dr. John Robinson, AgriLife Extension agriculture economist in College Station, said after a rise in price in mid-July.
Robinson said the rise in price was due to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “more bullish forecast of world demand in the July supply/demand report.” The market was also influenced by weather expectations.
Expectations of changing weather conditions can result in unpredictable and volatile prices, Robinson noted.