“Things are looking bad for far south Texas, where climate outlooks suggest higher than normal probabilities of dry conditions over much of the state,” said William Baule, regional climatologist at the Southern Regional Climate Center and research assistant professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University.

U.S. Drought Monitor data, published April 2, showed drought conditions intensified from March 24 –31. There was no change in abnormally dry conditions (D0), while drought categories (D1–D4) worsened overall.

Moderate drought increased 4.48 points to 88.98% (D1). Severe drought worsened sharply by 7.27 points to 62.81% (D2). Extreme drought was up 6.74 points to 29.34% (D3). Exceptional drought weakened by 0.86 points to 4.96% (D4).

The drought has made it difficult to take soil samples, according to Dwayne Peirce, Texas A&M AgriLife agriculture and natural resources agent, who has pulled samples since the 1990s.

“I've never had the difficulty that I've had this spring, pulling soil samples for our spring and summer crops,” he said. “It's taken me, on an average, at least twice as long, if not three times as long, to sample the field. Just trying to find a location that's soft enough to get the probe in the ground has been difficult.”