{"id":425,"date":"2026-05-21T21:01:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=425"},"modified":"2026-05-21T21:01:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:01:34","slug":"will-recent-rainy-days-and-approaching-el-nino-ease-the-drought-in-san-antonio-not-exactly-say-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=425","title":{"rendered":"Will recent rainy days and approaching El Ni\u00f1o ease the drought in San Antonio? Not exactly say experts."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A little more rain than usual this spring is helping to ease extraordinary drought conditions across South Central Texas, but experts say we\u2019re in need of much more rain to get out of a historic drought.<\/p>\n

Read more Texas Public Radio and San Antonio Report to combine operations<\/a><\/p>\n

After Tuesday\u2019s stormy conditions dumped rain across San Antonio, the city is up to 12.85 inches of rainfall this year. That\u2019s 1.59 inches higher than normal for this time of year.<\/p>\n

San Antonio Water System officials said at a board meeting Tuesday that the extra rainfall has been good for business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis influx of moisture has led to meaningful improvements in local hydrologic conditions and has contributed to a notable easing of long term drought impacts across the region,\u201d SAID Steven Siebert, SAWS\u2019 manager of water resources.<\/p>\n

The extra rain in the region is even helping Corpus Christi gain some extra time to deal with its water crisis. The coastal city was projected to reach a Level 1 water emergency \u2014 meaning it would have six months before water demand was greater than available supply \u2014 in September. But recent rainfall pushed that deadline back to December, according to the Texas Tribune.<\/p>\n

Bexar County has been downgraded from exceptional drought to a mix of moderate and severe drought, Siebert added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He cautioned that key water indicators remain low. The Edwards Aquifer is 27 feet below average. Comal Spring flows are half of what it normally is. Canyon Lake is only 58.7% full.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe region is no longer considered to be in meteorological drought, however, it remains an hydrologic drought, as groundwater and surface water supplies have not yet fully recovered from six years of persistent drought condition,\u201d Siebert said.<\/p>\n

Edwards Aquifer still needs recharge<\/h4>\n

F. Paul Bertetti is the senior director of aquifer science, research and modeling for the Edwards Aquifer Authority and has closely monitored local groundwater supplies.<\/p>\n

Read more New cocktail bar and bistro to open on East Commerce Street corridor<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past six years, rainfall at the SAT location is more than 70 inches below normal. The normal or slightly better than normal amounts received this year are welcome, important, and impactful, but aren\u2019t the type of rains that will end the drought,\u201d Bertetti said.<\/p>\n

The Edwards Aquifer Authority measures drought when the aquifer water levels fall below 660 feet mean sea level for 90 days or more. The aquifer has been below that threshold ever since 2022. Rainfall so far in 2026 hasn\u2019t changed that.<\/p>\n

The authority still has users in San Antonio at a 35% reduction in pumping to keep springs flowing and maintain aquifer health.<\/p>\n

Bertetti said the aquifer can recharge efficiently, though, if there\u2019s a large rainfall surplus or multiple intense storms on a region-wide scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cRain events that produce significant flow in streams across the region can really help. We don\u2019t need to make up all 70 inches of deficit \u2014 we just need a year with 11 to 14 inches of excess rain to restore water levels,\u201d Bertetti said.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a chance that increased rain persists, said Monte Oaks, a meteorologist at the Austin\/San Antonio office of the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n

He says 2026 is an El Ni\u00f1o year, where warm surface waters in the Pacific Ocean cause a subtropical jet stream to push moisture and rain through Mexico and into Texas.<\/p>\n

A more recent El Ni\u00f1o event in 2023 did not break the drought, Oaks said, but it does raise the likelihood of rain. El Ni\u00f1o conditions tend to manifest later in the year and could mean more rain and cooler temperatures this fall.<\/p>\n

Read more San Antonio begins formal review process to rename Cesar Chavez Boulevard<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April and May have brought above-average rainfall, easing extreme drought conditions. That doesn\u2019t mean we’re in the clear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWill recent rainy days and approaching El Ni\u00f1o ease the drought in San Antonio? 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