DALLAS — The Dallas-Fort Worth area officially ended a 67-day streak without rainfall Wednesday afternoon — the second-longest such stretch on record.
Just after 5 p.m., 0.11 inches of rain had fallen at DFW International Airport, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. Before Wednesday, the airport hadn’t seen measurable precipitation since June 3.
The region’s longest dry spell occurred in 2000, when Dallas-Fort Worth went 84 days without rain.
The weather service has taken its official measurements for the region at the airport since 1974, in part because of its central location and also due to the site not being publicly accessible.
Spotty showers were recorded across the region Tuesday, to the delight of many North Texans, but the rain wasn’t heavy enough at the airport to be measurable.
This week’s rainfall provided a much-needed relief from record-breaking heat — the temperature fell sharply into the upper 70s on Wednesday afternoon — but the weather service said the storms likely won’t do much to alleviate drought conditions in the state.
Nearly all of Texas is experiencing some level of drought, and most of North Texas is under extreme or exceptional drought conditions. The weather service urged residents to continue conserving water until the state sees longer-term relief.
Rain chances are expected to continue through the end of the week, with scattered thunderstorms and highs in the upper 90s, but North Texas is forecast to be back into triple-digit temperatures by early next week.
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