Drought Conditions Ease Slightly While Heat Dome

Drought conditions across the state dropped a percentage point in May compared to the previous month, with 26% of the state in some stage of drought, primarily in West and South Texas and parts of the Panhandle.

Massive storms in late April and into May caused flooding and wind damage in East and North Texas but did pull those regions out of drought. Some parts of Central and East Texas received three times their average rainfall in May, according to Mark Wentzel, hydrologist with the Texas Water Development Board.

Meanwhile, Texans are staring down another miserably hot summer and wondering if it will be as bad as last year’s, which was the second hottest on record. A heat dome, which is a high-pressure system that traps heat and keeps it sticking around, is making its way across the state. It has already heated the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to about the same temperatures as last year, according to a report in the Texas Standard.

The heat dome is also driving up temperatures on land. San Antonio last week saw a record heat index of 117 degrees. Some South Texas cities are already seeing heat temperatures broken, and not just by a small amount.

“They usually might beat it by half a degree and maybe, at most, 1 degree,” said Victor Murphy of the National Weather service. “So, to see 120-, 150-year records shatter by 2 to 3 degrees is pretty significant. It shows you the magnitude and the strength of this heat ridge.”

On the somewhat-bright side, Murphy said summer in Texas is not likely to be quite as bad as last year, which brought 45 days straight of triple-digit heat to much of the state.

Election Officials Acknowledge Holes in Ballot Secrecy During a Texas House Election Committee hearing last week, election officials acknowledged holes in election laws that have exposed some ballots cast by Texas voters to public scrutiny, The Dallas Morning News reported. A group of activists suing the Texas secretary of state claim they have created an algorithm that can match any voter to an anonymous ballot, though their legal filing redacted details on how their hack of ballot security works.

The secretary of state’s office, which oversees the state’s elections, has sent guidance to county election officials on how to adopt procedures to ensure ballots available for public inspection are scrubbed of any identifying information, The News reported.

“Every Texan has the right to a secret ballot, and that right must remain sacred. It is unacceptable for any voter to have their ballot choices publicized,” Secretary of State Jane Nelson said. “I am issuing emergency guidance to protect the privacy of Texas voters.”