Days without rain in DFW at 36 and counting

Unless an isolated shower happens to drift across the official weather station at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the region’s rainless streak won’t end anytime soon.

While the next several days include slight chances of rain to the west and southwest of Fort Worth, the possibilities are so low in the DFW area that they’re not mentioned in the official forecast.

As of Thursday, the airport had gone 36 days with no precipitation, the sixth-longest streak on record. To reach a tie for fourth place, the airport would have to go 39 days without rain.

“There’s certainly a possibility we’ll reach that,” National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Stalley said. “We’re going to stay dry for most of the next week.”

The conditions are reflected in the latest drought monitor, in which about 40 percent of the state is in some form of drought. That differs dramatically from a month ago, when less than 3 percent of the state was in drought, largely because of record spring rainfall.

It isn’t unusual to feel a little parched during the dog days of summer. Though it hasn’t rained a drop in August, it’s still only 0.71 inch below normal for this month.

“If there’s a time of year you could expect it to be dry, this is probably it,” Stalley said.

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Days without rain in DFW at 36 and counting."