A river runs dry

Here's an idea of just how bad the drought has been in Texas this year. This is a picture I took the other day of the Navidad River as I was driving down to Jackson County. The red grass in the picture is where the water used to be. The river has been reduced to a stream.

The Navidad River bottom is also the home of the Wild Man of the Navidad.

A welcome respite

Time for a little rain dance

According to the SciGuy over at the Houston Chronicle, there is hope here in Houston for some of that wet stuff falling from the sky.

Eric Berger, the Chronicle's science blogger notes that it has been a record 144 days since (Bush) Intercontinental Airport recorded as much as a half-inch of rain. The previous record was 93 days.

Fred Schmude at ImpactWeather says that conditions seem to be ripe for rain next Wednesday through the weekend. Over at the Weather Channel, they are predicting rain beginning next Tuesday.

We average about 53 inches of rain a year. The average rainfall for June is 6.25 inches. To date, Houston has received 7 inches of rain this year - a third of what we typically average.

Open for business

These are the conditions that the people "running" the Harris County Criminal (In)justice Center thought people should brave in order to be in the pews for a 9:00 a.m. docket call.  This, despite local schools closing for the day due to the weather.