Drought
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With the end of the West Coast wet season drawing to a close, it appears that areas west of the Rockies are likely to see the drought that is already established there get worse. Drought conditions east of the Rockies are also likely to spread and strengthen, leading to poor conditions for agriculture in the…
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The huge reservoirs that store water in the Western US are so low that with the continuing drought there, they are expected to reach historic lows this summer. This could trigger the federal government’s first-ever official shortage declaration and lead to cuts in Arizona and Nevada’s water supply. Lower lake levels also means a reduction…
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The National Drought Mitigation Center now offers two ways to get monthly drought summaries. One is a Drought Summary that describes the current drought situation across the US by the weather and climate data that describe shortages of water, and the other is a more story-based summary that provides an Impact Summary of the drought…
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The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows only slight changes in abnormally dry (D0) conditions this week, with the biggest reductions in Alabama where they have had the most rain. Other parts of the region have seen almost no changes, including Puerto Rico. The heaviest rain this coming week will be focused along a…
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With little snowfall over the past winter, Westerners are looking at the potential for a dire year with very low water availability. There are already reductions in water deliveries in place across the region, and many farmers will not have enough water to grow crops this year. According to CBS News, this may be the…
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This is the time of year when dry spells can lead to flash droughts as plants come out of dormancy and start to really increase their water use. While I don’t see much chance of that for the Southeast anytime soon, it’s still a good practice to pay careful attention to the conditions that are…
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The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that moderate (D1) drought in southern Florida expanded over the last week due to the lack of rainfall but contracted in Puerto Rico. The rest of the region did not change from last week’s Monitor. With less than 0.5 inches of rain expected in South Florida in…
Posted in: Drought