Central Texas drought to persist this spring

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The latest outlooks paint a bleak picture when it comes to the region's drought. The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook has Central Texas’ drought persisting or intensifying through May.

State meteorologist George Bomar says the spring weather patterns aren’t promising.

"We're hurting now and if we don't get much in the way of rainfall in say April, May and early June, then we're looking at a scorching hot summer and exceptional drought being rampant again,” said Bomar.

Wildfire concerns will likely rise again as well. However, there are some measures, like prescribed burns, that can reduce the threat.

Crews monitored a prescribed burn at the Slaughter Creek Management Unit in southwest Austin on Friday after waiting for the perfect weather conditions. The City of Austin owns and manages this land.

"After we burn here it would be very difficult for a wildfire to blow through the same area that we've already reduced all the fuel," said Kevin Thuesen, environmental program manager with the Wildland Conservation Division .

Wildfire control isn’t the only benefit to burning the land.

The rain that falls on the Slaughter Creek Management Unit works its way into the Edwards Aquifer. By improving the land, the water runoff is better. Burning away the old brush allows new plants and grass to flourish.

"These are ecosystems that are used to responding to fire, flourishing afterwards,” said Thuesen. “We'll say invigorating the grasses."

After the fire dies down Friday, crews will monitor hotspots for the next week.