Above average temperatures are exacerbating drier-than-normal conditions around the state, said the state’s climatologist. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service reports and experts say the hot, dry conditions are taking a toll on soil moisture levels and crops in areas that missed spotty rainfall this spring and early summer. John Nielsen-Gammon, Ph.D., director of the Texas Center for Climate Studies at Texas A&M University and Texas state climatologist, College Station, said conditions remain mostly dry across Texas despite recent rains. Storms over the last few weeks delivered rainfall to moisture-deprived areas of the state, but overall, 2020 is drier and hotter than normal going ...