Texas River Lovers: Your Scary Drought Map of the Day

USGS

It's from the U.S. Geological Survey, and it shows the streamflows of Texas rivers. (There's an interactive version of it here, where you can see what individual stations are reporting.)

Let's just say you'd like those dots to be some shade of blue. Green can be okay, but that orange and red is bad news.

Orange dots show where the streamflow is at the 24th percentile or less of the usual; brown is below the 10th percentile, and red just means "low."

Not good for toobers, kayakers or canoers.

And it's not just the rivers: The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department says low levels in Texas lakes are increasing boating accidents. Low water means more dangerous rocks, tree stumps or other normally submerged objects are in position to be slammed into by recreational boaters.

"As we are rapidly entering another year of low lake levels, it is critically important for boaters to be aware of their surroundings," said Jeff Parrish, TPWD's assistant chief for Marine Law Enforcement. "Some river authorities will provide buoys marking underwater hazards and dangerous obstacles, but this is not always the case. Low lake levels provide many inherent dangers and boaters need to be respectful of these."