From the University of Nebraska-Lincoln , a new record in the 12 year old drought monitor.
US sets drought monitor’s ‘exceptional drought’ record in July
Worst classification for drought in nearly 12 percent of contiguous US
The percent of contiguous U.S. land area experiencing exceptional drought in July reached the highest levels in the history of the U.S. Drought Monitor, an official at the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said.
Nearly 12 percent of the contiguous United States fell into the “exceptional” classification during the month, peaking at 11.96 percent on July 12. That level of exceptional drought had never before been seen in the monitor’s 12-year history, said Brian Fuchs, UNL assistant geoscientist and climatologist at the NDMC.
The monitor uses a ranking system that begins at D0 (abnormal dryness) and moves through D1 (moderate drought), D2 (severe drought), D3 (extreme drought) and D4 (exceptional drought).
Exceptional drought’s impacts include widespread crop and pasture losses, as well as shortages of water in reservoirs, streams and wells, creating water emergencies.
Currently, 18 percent of the country is classified as under either extreme or exceptional drought, Fuchs said. Much of it is in the south, particularly Texas, where the entire state is experiencing drought — three-fourths considered exceptional.
The most recent drought monitor report, released late last week, indicated that 59 percent of the United States was drought-free, while 41 percent faced some form of abnormal dryness or drought. Two weeks ago, 64 percent of the country was drought-free.
Other states that are at least 85 percent abnormally dry or in drought according to the report include:
- New Mexico (100 percent in drought, 48 percent exceptional)
- Louisiana (100 percent abnormally dry or in drought, 33 percent exceptional)
- Oklahoma (100 percent abnormally dry or in drought, 52 percent exceptional)
- South Carolina (97 percent abnormally dry or in drought, 16 percent extreme to exceptional)
- Georgia (95 percent abnormally dry or in drought, 68 percent extreme to exceptional)
- Arkansas (96 percent abnormally dry or in drought, 6 percent extreme to exceptional)
- Florida (89 percent abnormally dry or in drought, 20 percent extreme to exceptional)
In the next two to three weeks, some affected areas may see some improvement. The wake of Tropical Storm Don should result in rainfall in the central and western Gulf Coast states, but the degree of drought relief will depend upon the storm’s intensity, as well as its track and speed.
“Whenever there is a lot of moisture in a short period of time, the potential exists for rapid improvement,” Fuchs said. “But while that possibility exists, it won’t necessarily mean the end of drought in those areas. It will likely only improve by one drought category for those areas not impacted by any tropical storms or where drought related impacts improve.”
The drought monitor combines numeric measures of drought and experts’ best judgment into a weekly map. It is produced by the NDMC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and incorporates review from 300 climatologists, extension agents and others across the nation.
Each week the previous map is revised based on rain, snow and other events, observers’ reports of how drought is affecting crops, wildlife and other indicators.
To examine current and archived national, regional and state-by-state drought maps and conditions, go to http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Look at where the central part of the drought is. If anyone has driven through there, you’ll remember that much of that area is…
the desert.
A 12-year-old index and nonsensical alarmists (LA Guy) for some reason believe it’s meaningful.
Richard S Courtney-Every state’s official precipitation and temperature records month by month can be acquired through the use of NOAA’s “climate at a glance” page, here:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/cag3/cag3.html
It’s a pretty useful system, actually.
Of course, there was the 300-year Great Drought of the American Southwest, from about 1150 to 1450 AD, forcing the Puebloans to migrate. The problem with Alarmists (well, one of them, anyway) is a complete lack of historical perspective. That, and an apparent inability to think rationally. I blame the schools.
I’ve seen the drought-map of the US for the summer of 1933, & the present map is nowhere as bad, especially thru the presently reasonably moist mid-west & Ohio valley. There were also forest-fires in the Appalachians during the 1933 summer — unprecedented.
Not even close.
This is a ridiculous conversation. The alarmists need to make up their minds….. Does a warming world cause more or less precipitation? Didn’t we just go through a winter full of snow and the alarmists told us that a warmer planet would cause more precipitation? Well, yes, I do recall those sentiments being expressed. Or, are they going with the dreaded droughtflood, a derivative of warmcold?
I have to agree with the rest of the commentors. “Worst Ever” implies worse than the Dust bowl, a “Sahara in the making” according to contemporary accounts. In Houston, the grass is still green after the occasional rain, though further west is more dry. Don was a nice watering, even though it went South towards Laredo instead of North to Austin.
Black Flag, actually most of that land should be prairie, dry but far from desert. The desert doesn’t hit until after you pass Amarillo and go towards El Paso.
The problem is that the new drought monitor takes into accont human factors. Like increased ground water usage because were not allowed to build new resevoirs, or maintaining average water flows in the Chattahochee river to protect zebra mussels (depletes Lake Sydney Lanier), or manmade flood events on the Colorado for riparian health (depletes Lake Powel). Plus many more. Do the words “self-fullfilling phrophecy” seem to be wafting in the air.
Fear not! We will beat the double wide dwelling, toothless Flyover hicks and their Faux News puppeteers into submission! We are the THUGS of the Temples of Syrynx, our great computers, fill the hallowed halls … we KNOW BETTER! /sarc
“High temperatures scorch Midwest, South!!!!”
WooHoo!
We got about 0.5″ here in central NM over the past few days, finally bumping us over 1″ for the year (we were under 0.2″ up through June).
Good thing is all the weeds refused to sprout.
The on-the-spot reports here that areas labelled as drought-stricken by the “US Drought Monitor” are actually getting lots of rain and are very green should tell you all you need to know about the validity and provenance of its chart.
Pure bushwah PR. ‘On whose behalf?’, one wonders.
“Droughts” are short-term phenomena. The map in your post suggests that the Michigan area where I live has been impacted adversely for agriculture. Compare that to this map which shows the same area to be much above normal precipitation for the first half of the year:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/maps.php?ts=6&year=2011&month=6&imgs%5B%5D=Divisionalprank&submitted=Submit
It depends on what the definition of “is” is.
Why is this such a surprise? Most certainly this isn’t caused by AGW. It’s called the Hydrology Cycle. Look at the state of the PDO and AMO. IF you take a look at a composite of years featuring a -PDO and +AMO , Texas is on par for drought/Parts of the SW, and the Arklatecs are due. Long Term Drought Possibilities, Right now the PDO is Generally Negative while the AMO is Positive. Persistence of this pattern almost always brings hard droughts to TX, OK, NM, AR, LA, and Parts of AZ/KS. This is what is occurring now. IF the AMO Stays Positive and Persists while the PDO goes consistently Positive down the road, the chances of another dust bowl type event within the next 10-15 years is possible. I’m not talking about just the south central parts of the country, which is occurring now. When the PDO turns Positive down (with +AMO only) the road, the current drought now will make a soil moisture/arid periphery bridge to parts of the SE, Upper MW, and the Central/Upper Plain states. Allowing them to dry out much quickly…Dry High’s will rue the day… It’s just cycles…
According to Territorial records, the drought of 1850(ish) – 1865(ish) in eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle was both long lasting and severe. And if you want to see a real drought, look at the Altithermal / Atlantic Climate Period and it’s apparent effects in what is now Texas and Oklahoma (and other places). Three thousand years of aridity, humans moved east or up into the Rocky Mountains, et cetera, et cetera.
That said, it’s miserable enough as it is up on the High Plains of Texas. The lawn is not quite ready for FEMA assistance, but I swear the hawthorn tree in the front yard tried to squeeze a passing dog dry yesterday evening!
There is a reason why Columbus and after him Conquistadors and British explorers found North America to be very underdeveloped. Mega droughts. We have not seen anything yet!
In the 1930’s the WHOLE west was dry. The Tillamook Burn. The Dustbowl. Cattle dying in the fields. this happened. It was warmer and dryer then. Little effect form UHE either.Yet in 1933, the record low temp for Oregon (Seneca at -58f as I recall) was set. 12 years is a gnat’s eyelash.
What am I to think of a map that says that there is no drought at all in e.g. Nevada?
Of course it is to show drier than normal, but if a desert is considered not suffering from drought, then the entire exercise is somewhat pointless. By that token, even if an area is considered a drought area, it may still be wet as hell, all it says is less wet than on average.
It does not tell us about any area being, or being at risk of becoming arid. Or does it?
timetochooseagain:
Please accept my sincere thanks for the link you provide for me in your post at August 2, 2011 at 6:24 am.
That is exactly what I wanted.
Richard
I can’t stop from laughing.
This guy, “LA Guy” writes some stupid two liners. All you guys break your heads trying to respond to that. Reminds me of a little boy throwing a small stone in the middle of a bunch of cattle, and all hell breaks loose.
this guy is getting a huge kick out of tweaking you all???
On the flipside, i learnt a lot from all those charts and data. There really is nothing unusual going on… except, as always, the good folks in the government throw “worst ever” nonsense so often. It is a disgrace we pay these guys’ salaries.
suyts says:
August 2, 2011 at 7:10 am
This is a ridiculous conversation. The alarmists need to make up their minds….. Does a warming world cause more or less precipitation? Didn’t we just go through a winter full of snow and the alarmists told us that a warmer planet would cause more precipitation? Well, yes, I do recall those sentiments being expressed. Or, are they going with the dreaded droughtflood, a derivative of warmcold?
why make up their minds? when AGW causes EVERYTHING…/sarc
LA Guy says:
August 1, 2011 at 6:59 pm
So how long before you guys start acknowledging that this could be related to how we’re changing the make up of the earth’s atmosphere?
The exact second you show us some EVIDENCE.
LA Guy says:
August 1, 2011 at 6:59 pm
So how long before you guys start acknowledging that this could be related to how we’re changing the make up of the earth’s atmosphere?
“climate myopia” or climate “disruption”? Better come better armed with facts
An interesting pattern on that map, assuming it bears any relationship to reality. Normally droughts are worst in the center of continents, which makes sense. The 1930’s drought was perfectly centered in North America.
On this map, all the drought areas directly border oceans or Great Lakes.
A little ditty from 1958 (Merry Minuet):
They’re rioting in Africa
They’re starving in Spain
There’s hurricanes in Florida
And Texas needs rain
It’s worse than you thought LA Guy.
In the last twelve years there have been more than 49% with larger than average drought conditions and nearly as many with below average drought conditions (Extreme drought events). The NWS is reporting a high correlation of both higher than average events coupled with below average events. It’s only a matter of time before all drought events will fit within a six sigma statistical range!
Our only hope is the abundance of salty tears being produced by the environmentally minded sector of the public over inadequate recycling. /sarc