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Rains to continue in San Antonio, but won't be a drought-buster

Storm map from National Weather Service-San Antonio
National Weather Service
Storm map from National Weather Service-San Antonio

The National Weather Service reports there is a strong chance showers will continue into Tuesday morning, ending around daybreak.

The showers and potentially more severe storms are in advance of a cool front that arrived in New Braunfels around the lunch hour on Monday during its southward push.

Most of the area is expected to receive a least an inch of rain, but heavier amounts are possible if severe storms break out.

Oscar Bermudez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said severe storms would be isolated. The forecast said hail an inch or more in diameter and winds up to 60 mph cannot be ruled out. The overall risk of violent weather for the region is described as marginal.

Besides rains that could ease the drought, temperatures will also drop into the pleasant range. Lows before sunrise Tuesday could dip into the upper 50s, and the high on Tuesday may have trouble reaching 70.

San Antonio — and much of South Central Texas — is in bad need of rain to ease drought conditions that have lingered at the start of 2020. Most of Bexar County is in severe or extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought monitor. The worst conditions are in West Bexar County.

Further west, much of Medina and Frio counties are in exceptional drought conditions, the worst category the drought monitor uses. Medina Lake was only 20% full at Easter weekend.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff issued an emergency disaster declaration on April 12 due to fire-prone conditions. Thousands of acres have gone up in smoke in South Central Texas this spring with the worst wildfires south of Medina Lake and on the grounds of Camp Bullis. The declaration implemented a burn ban through July 4, but could be lifted if weather conditions greatly improve. The long range forecast from the NWS, however, expects less rain than normal through June.

On April 13, San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh, after consulting with the San Antonio Water System, declared Stage 2 water restrictions for city residents. The call was made after the Edwards Aquifer water level dipped to 650 feet, which is the official trigger point for Stage 2.

Under Stage 2, just like Stage 1, residents can only water their landscaping once a week based on their street address, but the watering hours are cut back even further, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

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