As if 2020’s trials and tribulations weren’t enough, it was also a drought year for agricultural producers within the High Plains Water District (HPWD) service area.

According to unofficial National Weather Service data, Amarillo received 12.58 inches of precipitation and Lubbock received 11.55 inches of precipitation in calendar year 2020. The normal values are 20.36 inches for Amarillo and 19.12 inches for Lubbock. The departure from normal for Amarillo was – 7.78 inches while the departure from normal for Lubbock was – 7.57 inches.

Precipitation ranged from 5.28 inches near Hart in southeastern Castro County to 12.29 inches near Idalou in northeastern Lubbock County, according to data from the HPWD rain gauge network.

These data may be found on the HPWD interactive map feature at map.hpwd.org. Select “layers” on the menu bar and toggle on the “rain gauge network” layer. The respective rain gauge locations are shown by blue dots. Clicking on the dot and on the “rainfall chart” button brings up a bar chart with the 2020 rainfall by month for the site. Daily rainfall information is available by clicking on the rainfall total shown at the top of each bar in the chart.