Ok, so maybe late October is typically fall here in Houston and it’s 41 degrees out this morning, but those trees aren’t turning gorgeous shades of red and yellow. They are pine trees that have died from the severe drought here in Texas.
Flying around Houston really gives you a feel for the magnitude of the crises here with huge chunks of trees all dead or dying. One of the driest years ever recorded had produced massive fires that raged all around the state:
Since wildfire season started in November, more than 3.8 million of the state’s 167.5 million acres have burned in some 24,000 fires, according to the Texas Forest Service. Roughly 2,800 homes were destroyed.
It’s very sad as it will take years for the forests and the ecosystem to recover from this natural disaster. With winter approaching a few recent rains, things are improving:
The Drought Monitor stated that 90.87 percent of the Lone Star State was considered in extreme or exceptional drought. That was down from 91.87 percent a week earlier and the peak of 96.99 percent in the October 4 report.
Many of the lakes around the state are down 10, 20, 30 feet or more from their normal levels and are practically unusable. At Lake Houston, even many piers that go out many feet from the original shoreline are still standing high and dry above the receding water line.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Treadmill, yoga & then watching Dad participate in the father-daughter Elvis-themed half-time show this afternoon.
How sad. And to think, here in the Northeast, we experienced one of our wettest year’s ever. (Which was also quite destructive. If only we could have sent some of our storms down South…
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