While many parts of the Southeast are in very bad drought conditions, we are not the only place in the US that is being affected by drought.  The drought in the Northeast, fortunately, seems to be waning as they go into the winter wet season.  In northern California, El Niño rains last year put a dent in their long-term drought.  But those rains missed southern California almost completely, and their drought is at exceptional levels similar to what parts of the Southeast are seeing now.  It is estimated that 107 million trees have died because of the drought there.  You can read more about it at EarthSky at https://earthsky.org/earth/drought-continues-california-november-2016.

I attended the SouthEast Division of the Association of American Geographers meeting earlier this week and heard more about the California drought and its similarities to the Southeast drought in a talk by Glen McDonald.  You can read more about the topic at https://e360.yale.edu/feature/beyond_the_perfect_drought_californias_real_water_crisis/2885/.

california-drought-november-2016