AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – According to the most recently updated information from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), the majority of counties across the High Plains have continued to experience extreme drought conditions.

Data released Monday by the TWDB and the US Drought Monitor showed that 90% of the state of Texas has been impacted by drought conditions. “Exceptional” drought, said the report, has settled across the state for the first time since June 2021, and “moderate” or worse drought conditions have covered the largest area since 2013.

The majority of space in Texas experiencing the most severe drought conditions appeared to be in the northwest and the Panhandle, according to the released data.

“Amarillo received 6.67 inches of precipitation in May 2021, the third wettest May on record,” said the TWDB report on local rainfall, “Since then, it has received only 6.54 inches of precipitation, the driest June through February in the 75-year record. Exceptional drought has returned to the area for the first time since 2018.”