A dry winter has dropped chunks of Texas, including large metro
areas such as Houston and Fort Worth, back into severe forms of
drought, raising concerns for wildfires and the health of tree
farms. State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon says September
and November are on track to be the driest since 1950 and in the
top five driest on record. He says the state never fully
recovered from the historic dry spell in 2011, and the lack of
rainfall this winter raises more concern. The U.S. Drought
Monitor's latest map, released Thursday, shows nearly 55 percent
of Texas in severe drought, up from just over 40 percent last
week. About 24.5 percent of the state, including Houston and
Fort Worth, are now in extreme drought, up from 23 percent last
week. For the original story: