HOUSTON (November 30, 2012)—A dry autumn dropped parts of Texas, including large metro areas such as Houston and Fort Worth, back into severe forms of drought, raising concerns about wildfires and the health of tree farms.

September and November are on track to be the driest since 1950 and in the top five driest on record, State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said.

He said the state never fully recovered from the historic dry spell in 2011, and the lack of rainfall this winter raises more concern.

The U.S. Drought Monitor's latest map, released Thursday, shows nearly 55 percent of Texas in severe drought, up from just more than 40 percent last week.

About 24.5 percent of the state, including Houston and Fort Worth, are now in extreme drought, up from 23 percent last week.

Conditions south of the DFW area are less severe.