Houston drought is spreading. Could El Niño bring winter rain relief?

Houston Chronicle · Justin Ballard · 2026-11-06 15:18 UTC

Houston is about 7 inches behind normal rainfall for the year to date as drought spreads. Past El Niño winters offer a mixed outlook for relief.

Houston is heading into winter about 7 inches behind the normal year-to-date rainfall, with some level of drought now covering nearly all of Southeast Texas.

A strong El Niño event is developing. The naturally occurring phenomenon in the eastern Pacific Ocean is marked by above-average sea-surface temperatures in the tropical waters along the equator. The significant change in heat energy in the world's largest ocean can influence weather around the world.

Seasonal outlooks point toward a wetter weather pattern in Texas in the coming months, which could offer some relief after a dry stretch. But Houston’s past El Niño seasons show that a dry fall does not necessarily give way to a wet winter.

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