CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi is currently in the midst of the 11th driest summer on record.
Since June 1, rain at the Corpus Christi International Airport has only measured in at .81 inches. In 2021, 13.29 inches fell during the summer months, making it the 7th wettest summer on record.
And you can see that difference in satellite photos released by the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi.
The team at the NWS decided to take a look satellite photos from July 25, 2022 and compare it to July 25, 2021. In the 2021 photos, there is a lot of greenery on the ground. In 2022, everything is brown.
Another set of photos showed water levels at Lake Corpus Christi, which went from 93.5 percent full down to only 46 percent in one year.
"The lake levels dropping is affecting our visitation a little bit, but there's also the heat itself, the drought, and the gas prices," Assistant Park Superintendent at Lake Corpus Christi, Krista Gonzales, told 3NEWS.
Gonzales said that from June 2021 to June 2022 attendance dropped about 20%. The sharp decrease in water level since last year prompted the park to close one of the boat ramps. If the current trend continues, they may have to take further action.
"We are keeping an eye on that," Gonzales confirmed. "The maintenance rangers, they keep an eye on the water levels and at some point we're thinking if it continues to drop this way we will see the potential to close the other ramp."
With these lower levels, it's important to watch out for debris and stick to deeper water.
Corpus Christi is about 9.25 inches below normal for rainfall for the year. However, Meteorologist Carly Smith said it would only take one big rain event to change that (we are crossing our fingers!)
