Oct is typically our driest month. Late winter/early spring is when those soils typically seal up. Look at the houses in the general area, if they’re not on a “floating” slab or have some type of extended footing deep in the parent material, you’ll see cracked brick veneer, sagging rooflines and chimneys falling away from the structure.

Some alluvial soils will develop surface cracks but they are generally shallow. The high shrink/swell clays will have deep fissures in them.