Texans and Oklahomans were praising God, Allah, Buddha, and anyone else who came to mind as the first rainfall since "dark thirty" fell on the two parched, heat-driven states.

An individual in Odessa, Texas, seems to be standing in front of what looks almost like a cross praising the heavens for the .38 of an inch the town received.  It was the most rainfall for Odessa since September, 2010

This boat dock at a lake south of Ft. Worth has long since dried up.  The cracked earth shows how devastating the drought has been.

Though Texans and Oklahomans are thankful, it is too little too late. Unfortunately, none of it was nearly enough," said meteorologist Ken Boone of the Weather Channel. "Those people who got rain were lucky to have a cell right over them. This is not the sweeping frontal system that we need."

All possibility of rain for Texas goes away after Saturday night, Boone added.

"After that, the state is dry through the week," he said.

Heat advisories remained in effect in the south central part of the state, where heat indexes were expected to reach as high as 109 degrees, according to the Weather Service.

https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44123458

July was the hottest month ever recorded in Texas, said state climatologist John Nielson-Gammon, and the 12 months ending July 31 were the driest since records started being kept in 1895. (Ibid)

Meteoroligists blamed all this on an El Nina year in 2010; but predict another El Nina for this year, so the outlook for the long-term is not good.

The heat and drought, which feed off one another because the heat dries up any moisture that might evaporate to form showers, have devastated the agricultural and cattle industries in Oklahoma and Texas.  According to sources at Texas A & M, Texas alone has or will lose 8 billion in revenue this year.  Certainly doesn't help an economy already struggling.