Texas Panhandle remains drought free, lake levels rise amid steady summer rainfall

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The Texas Water Development Board reported drought-free conditions in the Texas Panhandle remained steady as of July 22, while far west Texas and some areas of the southern portions of the state continued to experience intense drought ahead of the start of August.

According to the TWDB’s “Water Weekly” report, 21% of the state of Texas was experiencing drought conditions as of July 22, compared to 22% the previous week, 58% three months ago and 21% one year ago.

As noted previously, the region is expected to stay drought-free through the end of September.

Lake Meredith in the Texas Panhandle, the region’s largest surface water storage reservoir, reached a depth of 80 feet for the first time since 2023 on July 28. The rise in lake levels had been steady during recent weeks due to local rainfall. Historically, the record high for the lake was 101.85 feet in April 1973 and its record low was 26.14 feet in August 2013.

Elsewhere in Texas, the TWDB reported water supply storage in Lake Travis in Central Texas recovered at a near-record pace in July 2025. From July 4 to July 27, storage increased from 44% to 88% capacity, the reservoir’s second-largest 14-day increase on record.

However, drought levels in Medina County in Central Texas and the Rio Grande Valley from El Paso to Del Rio remained at “extreme” and “exceptional” levels in late July.