Satellite Photos Show Texas Lake Disappearing

Satellite photos taken nearly two years apart show a popular Texas lake disappearing as drought grips the region.

Levels have been dropping at Canyon Lake for months due to severe drought, which has hit hardest in central and eastern Texas. Comal County, home to the lake, is suffering exceptional drought, the most severe classification by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the dry weather has caused water levels at the lake to fall throughout the summer.

On Friday, USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center shared before-and-after photos taken by the Landsat satellite. The images were nearly two years apart, with the first taken November 11, 2021, and the second on September 20, 2023. The difference between the photos portrays the extent of the rain shortage.

"Happy World Space Week! Because of satellites like Landsat, we can see much about our world from space, such as historic-low water levels in reservoirs like drought-stricken Canyon Lake near San Antonio, Texas," the organization posted on X, formerly Twitter.

In the first image, vibrant blue waters show the boundaries of Canyon Lake. Not even two years later, the lake has shrunk considerably.

In late September, dropping water levels at the lake revealed a secret cave that both delighted and terrified lake visitors given its creepy nature. Since the cave's discovery, century-old ruins also have been found at the lake as water levels fall, according to a report by CNN.

As of Tuesday, Canyon Lake was 64.6 percent full, a more than 20 percent fall from this time a year ago, according to a report by Water Data for Texas. Drought in Comal County also has worsened significantly. Three months ago, only 44 percent of the county suffered from extreme drought—the second-to-worst classification by the USGS. None of the county was battling exceptional drought at the time.

Texas has received less than normal amounts of rainfall, as evidenced by a map shared on social media by climatologist Brian Brettschneider on Tuesday. The map revealed areas of the United States where rainfall was below normal amounts for the most recent water year, which wrapped up in September. Much of Texas was either below or much below normal.

Texas might get some relief in the coming days as Hurricane Lidia treks through Mexico and exits into the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is expected to merge with a developing system near the Bay of Campeche and bring rain to southern Texas and Louisiana on Wednesday and Thursday.

AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva told Newsweek that Texas could receive 1 to 2 inches of rain, although much of it will fall in the southern tip of the state. Canyon Lake likely won't benefit much, if at all, from the storm.

"It looks like [Texas] will get some [rain]. Not enough to bust them out of the drought, but any bit helps," DaSilva said.