Where’s The Rain? Amarillo Is In A Drought.

As we continue to push through all these 100+ degree days this summer, we're screaming for a little relief.

Cooler temperatures would certainly be welcomed, don't get me wrong. There's a bigger issue we need to deal with first, however.

Amarillo is officially in a drought, and not a little one.

The entire Texas Panhandle for that matter has found themselves classified in an extreme drought, or D3, on the chart.

So just how bad is it? As of right now, Amarillo is sitting at roughly four inches behind its average rainfall for this time of year. Seems like a pretty big number to be behind. It's definitely been a dry summer.

It's not the worst it's ever been though. Go back about 11 years ago when the entire state was under an even worse drought. In 2011, Amarillo found itself about 9.5 inches behind its normal rainfall number, so in theory, it's not as bad as it could be.

When you look around the area, we aren't alone. Dalhart is nearly three inches below its normal yearly average. Eastern New Mexico is worse than we are as they are currently in the D4 stage, and most of the Oklahoma panhandle is currently in D2 status.

With drought conditions being what they are, Amarillo has been asked to go on a watering schedule for the first time in quite a while.

They will be out monitoring that, so please don't get caught watering outside the schedule, it will ultimately result in a fine if you continue to do so.