Texas Drought Tough On Farmers, Ranchers

LA PRYOR, Texas (AP) -- Parts of Texas were swamped with rain this week, but in other areas, the drought lingers.

A&M's Texas Forest Service says more than 160 counties have burn bans.

Some areas have been under National Weather Service red flag warnings, with conditions ripe for difficult-to-control fires.

Last July, the state was declared drought-free for the first time in at least a decade. No more.

The Associated Press reports much of Zavala County is in an extreme drought, along with all or pieces of ten nearby counties.

State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon says 2007 started out great as far as rainfall. But he says Texas weather has this nasty habit of alternating between too much and too little rain.

The National Weather Service says Texas averaged about 37 inches of rain for 2007 -- nearly ten inches above normal.