NEWSTALK 860 » texas drought

Forest Service Surveys Drought Destruction

Jim Bell — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:03:15 +0000

The Texas Forest Service has estimated that last year's drought killed hundreds of millions of trees, but those are only educated guesses. Now the agency is launching a more scientific survey that will provide a much more accurate picture of the destruction the drought left behind.

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ERCOT Hopes to Keep Lights on This Summer

Jim Bell — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:37:06 +0000

Even though weather experts are not expecting another long, hot summer like the one we had last year, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is searching for ways to keep the lights on through this summer and in the future.

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Rains Mean Drought is Over — For Now

Jim Bell — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:06:35 +0000

Foresters at the Texas Forest Service say they have good news and bad news. The good news is that because of an unusually wet winter and spring, the worst drought in the state's history has finally ended, in east Texas.

The bad news is that many areas of the state are primed for another hot and dry summer. Wildfire season is just around the corner, and the state and federal agencies that deal with wildfires are getting ready for it.

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Drought Kills Half a Billion Texas Trees

Jim Bell — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:05:16 +0000

The Texas Forest Service reports the unrelenting Texas drought has killed as many as 500 million mature trees -- 10 percent of the state's entire forest cover -- and the end is not in sight.

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Climatologist Says Drought Could Last Until 2020

Jim Bell — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:15:46 +0000

Oh joy. Another decade of this? That's what weather experts are saying. The state climatologist for Texas says the record drought of 2011 could be just the beginning of a long dry spell that could last until 2020 or beyond.

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Drought Forcing Ranchers to Trim Herds

Jim Bell — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:48:23 +0000

The scorching heat and unrelenting drought are forcing members of the largest livestock association in Texas to reduce their herds by almost 40 percent, but it hasn't shaken their confidence in the future of the industry.

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TFS Says Crooks Use Drought Fears to Cheat Landowners

Jim Bell — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:56:44 +0000

The Texas Forest Service says scam artists are using extreme drought conditions and a tough economy to swindle landowners into making bad deals on timber sales.

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Wildfires Burn – No Relief in Sight

Jim Bell — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:53:24 +0000

Adding to the more than 3.5 million acres that have burned in Texas this year, a relentless string of wildfires has burned more than 14 thousand acres in nine east Texas counties since the weekend.

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Drought is Killing State's Agriculture

Jim Bell — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:19:59 +0000

State agriculture officials say the relentless drought is causing a major economic disaster for Texas farmers. It's the worst drought in the state's history, and the most costly. Texas agriculture losses could exceed $5.2 billion statewide if the drought doesn't end soon.

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Tropical Storm Heading for South Texas

Jim Bell — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:36:58 +0000

We have good news and we have bad news. First the good news. It's going to rain, a lot, in South and Central Texas in the coming days. The bad news? It's because of a tropical storm now moving across the Gulf of Mexico and heading straight for the lower Texas coast.

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Texas Drought Now Considered A Disaster

Phillip George — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:38:16 +0000

The lack of rain in the past couple of months has caused problems for many farmers and ranchers.

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Thanks For the Rain Lord, But We Didn't Need the Tornadoes

Jim Bell — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:14:30 +0000

A powerful and fast-moving storm spread badly needed rain across east Texas and Angelina County last night, but it also brought strong winds and tornadoes.

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Governor Rick Perry Asks Texans to Pray for Rain

Jim Bell — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:11:45 +0000

Governor Rick Perry is calling on Texans to pray for rain, as the 4th worst drought in the state’s history shows no sign of letting up, and firefighters continue battling wildfires that have charred more than one and a half million acres across the state.

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Governor Rick Perry Asks Texans to Pray For Rain

Jim Bell — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:54:23 +0000

Texas Governor Rick Perry is calling on Texans to pray for rain, as the 4th worst drought in the state’s history shows no sign of letting up, and firefighters continue battling wildfires that have charred more than one and a half million acres across the state.

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