FORT WORTH — While smiles were wider and temperatures milder after Saturday's morning of slow and steady rain, weather and landscape experts were quick to put a damper on any thoughts of long-range relief.
Temperatures on Sunday were flirting with 100 degrees again, and the official rainfall total of 0.86 inch at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport provided no lasting benefits.
"It all soaked into the ground," said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Harris. "There's not much runoff into the lakes. Rivers may have gotten some runoff, but it wasn't enough for the lakes to rise."
Parched areas west of Fort Worth, including San Angelo, did receive some much-needed heavy rainfall, Harris said.
Flash-flood warnings were issued in San Angelo at midday as cars became stuck in low-water crossings, according to the San Angelo Standard-Times, and residents were reporting as much as 4 to 5 inches of rain in their backyard gauges.
A trace of rain was recorded here Thursday, the day that broke the streak of 100-degree days just two days shy of a record for consecutive scorchers. Before that, traces of rain were recorded at DFW Airport on July 9 and July 16, when 0.09 inch fell.
Showers weren't widespread, and Arlington got no rain at all in July, when the area usually receives 2.12 inches for the month.
Back on June 21, a whopping 2.84 inches was officially recorded over the 24-hour period.
A break in the heat was as welcome as the rain, when a cool 75 degrees was recorded at 7:39 a.m. It had not been that comfortable since July 1.
Lows Saturday night dipped into the mid-70s.
It is expected to be a brief respite.
"It's going to be hot and dry for a while, and there will probably be some more chances for rain later in the month," Harris said.
Thirsty and wilting landscape plants may have received a brief reprieve, though.
"It might perk them up for a few days, but depending on how much measureable rainfall fell, it's not going to do much good," said Jacob Swift, manager of Calloway's Nursery at Stonegate in Fort Worth. "We need a full day of steady rain."
Grass may look greener and the air may be fresher, but trees and shrubs won't benefit much except in the areas that received the heavier rainfall.
"In order for it to help people out, it would have to be a couple of inches," Swift said.
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