Dry March, Wetter April Forecast by LCRA’s Rose

LCRA Meteorologist Bob Rose delivered a spring forecast La Grange Noon Lions Club last Thursday.

Rose said the cold days are behind us in Fayette County. He reckoned the last frost date had passed for the winter. But as for rainfall, Rose said that’s a trickier question. He said the area is already off to a dry start for the year.

“If you remember back in January a year ago, y’all had 13½ inches of rain that month,” Rose said. “That’s what pushed up the total for the year. If it had not been for that, the rainfall would have been pretty low.”

October was unusually hot and dry, and that trend continued through the end of the year.

“For the state, it was the third warmest November on record and the second warmest December on record,” Rose said. “If you look at precipitation year to date, Fayette County is below normal. In fact most of the area is below normal in rainfall starting off the year.”

Rose predicted a drier-than-normal March, based on meteorological models. But the models indicate a wetter trend in April, he said.