Local farmers and business owners in the Killeen area say they are dealing with the negative effects of an abnormally wet summer, including the return of a familiar menace: the armyworm.
âIn general, the area has been very wet,â Texas State Climatologist John Nielson-Gammon said Wednesday. âThe past 30 days, it s (precipitation totals) been anywhere between almost normal to nearly three times normal.â
Mayâs precipitation total doubled that of its average rainfall total with 8.55 inches of rain recorded at Temple Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport â the airport was the closest site to Killeen to have a complete precipitation data set, according to the National Weather Service.
The past month has been a rollercoaster ride for local farmers, with changes in temperature and rainfall affecting their crops and livestock.
Lyle Zoeller, an agent with the Bell County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office, said this yearâs weather has mostly affected local crops and not so much the livestock. He said this year shows why having a diversity of crops is so critical.
âIt is not like any we have had recently,â Zoeller said. âWe have had, quite honestly, a cooler than normal temperatures, and now we have had significant rainfall in May, June and now July. So itâs just another different year where you just got to take it one day at a time.â
It’s been a crazy weather year in Bell County. A difficult winter gave way to a very wet spring, and now muddy fields are delaying the harvests of wheat and