Despite good rain for farmers, drought conditions remain

MISSION, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Recent rains have been very beneficial for local farmers. However, this does not mean the drought is over.

July 1 was a historic day for the Rio Grande Valley as several rain records were broken. Forecasters reported that Brownsville picked up to four and three-quarters inches, breaking a record from 1883.

However, Valley Storm Team Forecaster Craig Verley explains the drought is not over.

“Any amount of rain is beneficial in terms of the soil moisture content levels, and we have seen some improvements in that," Verley said. "Actually, over the last couple of weeks, we've had enough rain regularly to improve our soil moisture content. We still have a long way to go, but we're better off than we were a couple of months ago.”

The Texas International Produce Association says right now is a good time for grapefruit and orange farmers as the moisture allows the fruit to grow. It also means citrus growers will not need to use their limited water supplies for at least the next month.

However, they warned that water conservation efforts are a must. In a statement to Valley Central, they said, “People should not confuse the current rains as a 'way out' of the drought. Sadly, the Rio Grande Valley has no large-scale water storage (ie, no reservoir), so as soon as the rains stop and the heat comes back, we'll be back to where we started within a few weeks.”

With extreme summer heat, almost no other fruits or vegetables are in the ground right now except feed corn and sunflowers.

For lasting impact, the organization says the rain needs to reach areas like Falcon Dam, where it can be saved and used later.

However, the forecast for July is not looking that wet.

“The climate prediction center is looking at below normal in terms of our precipitation for July," Verley said. "So we may be glad that we got the rain that we got for now, even though it was a little inconvenient over the last couple of days, because the rest of the month may not provide us with quite as much rain.”