drought!

[raydeayon1]

Ok so the month and a half its been 100 out here im like wtf its soooo hot and i livee in wisconsin moooooo! but yeah our crops are not doing so well :-( such as corn and our wheat is taking damage. everywhere i go the grass is a brownish death color. But finally it thunder stormed lastnite and it rained today. Right now its about 68 and windy and oh boy am i loving every bit of it.... Well until i get off work then ill love it. So who else is feeling the heat?

[Daddydavek]

Every county in Missouri has been declared a federal disaster due to the drought. Trees are dying. The crops are toast. The rivers are low and getting lower. NOAA has said the exceptionally warm and dry weather looks like it will continue right through October which means it will be a really long, long, hot, hot, dry, dry, sweltering summer in MO.

[Bumblebee]

I still find it quite funny that Americans and some Europeans whinge so much about the heat, cause like what you guys are having now is every single summer in Perth. Even though we are almost finished winter out dams are reaching to an all time low and we aren't getting as much rain as we normally do, so it'll be a worse summer here then previous years if we don't get the rain.

 

Though I do understand that the heat gets to everyone, so stay cool!

[raydeayon1]

Hey i am cool lol jk it sucks though i don't mind the heat but come on enough is enough

[Bill W]

You mean grass isn't supposed to be brown? You certainly won't find much corn as high as an elephant's eye this year, but the food prices might get there. With the grains in short supply, the animals aren't getting the same amount of feed, so they aren't growing and will be sold off early. Then there will be a shortage of meat, and don't forget the milk. Cows need to drink lots of water to produce large quantities of milk. I wonder how long this is going to last?

[Mark Arbour]

Every county in Missouri has been declared a federal disaster due to the drought. Trees are dying. The crops are toast. The rivers are low and getting lower. NOAA has said the exceptionally warm and dry weather looks like it will continue right through October which means it will be a really long, long, hot, hot, dry, dry, sweltering summer in MO.

 

You know what I don't get? How come it's so freaking dry, there's this big drought going on, but it's still humid? WTF?

[Mikelaing74]

I'm in Scotland and we've had more rain in the past month than ever before. We've busted the records.

 

I'm willing to trade some sun shine for rain, anyone ?

[MikeL]

I'm in Scotland and we've had more rain in the past month than ever before. We've busted the records.

 

I'm willing to trade some sun shine for rain, anyone ?

 

If you can do that, you would be considered a saint here.

 

Here is the USDA's 12 week drought monitor (animated).

 

Edited July 20, 2012 by MikeL

[joann414]

I'll throw in some rain for u all also. We are soggy here in Mississippi, tho humid as heck. But the drought u all are having will certainly affect the economy:(

[Daddydavek]

You know what I don't get? How come it's so freaking dry, there's this big drought going on, but it's still humid? WTF?

 

We do have humidity issues as well. However, if anyone likes humidity, I always say try Houston TX!

[TalonRider]

Our latest heat wave has ended and today has been cooler, temp in the 70's, and rain off and on all morning. This weekend is to be in the 80's slowly building back to the 90's again next week.

 

On a side note, here at work this week, on Wednesday afternoon we had a heat index of 104 inside. The updated ventilation system they installed last fall couldn't keep the building cool. Then again, when your pulling air in from outside and it's already hot, it's not going to cool down much.

[raydeayon1]

not us, it's going to be in the 90s this weekend fml

[Mark Arbour]

If you can do that, you would be considered a saint here.

 

Here is the USDA's 12 week drought monitor (animated).

 

 

This is cool! I would have just hit "like" but I exhausted my quota for the day.

[Graeme]

Sorry, guys. but southeast Australia has just come out of a 13 year drought - you can't have any of our rain.

 

Seriously, though, all the best for those being affect - it's not nice, especially for people like farmers who are dependent on the rain for crops and stockfeed.

 

Here's another look, using the Palmer Drought Severity index at NCDC for the most recently available month (June):

 

The current drought helps us understand what things must have been like back in 1934 when it was much worse for the same month:

 

The data for July isn't online yet (since the month hasn't finished) and I can't find a historical graph for the weekly data, but the most recent weekly data for the Palmer Index is below:

 

It looks like the current drought is approaching the June 1934 conditions, though it's not there yet. Hopefully it doesn't make it...

Edited July 20, 2012 by Graeme

[MikeL]

This is cool! I would have just hit "like" but I exhausted my quota for the day.

 

Thanks. Maybe try again tomorrow.

[TetRefine]

It hasn't been dry here, but hot as hell. Today was the first day in weeks where it hasn't topped out in the 90s-100s range. Add in the humidity and its been a miserable summer so far up here in New Hampshire. My cold-weather body can't take it anymore. I'm moving to Canada....or Antarctica.

[wildone]

It hasn't been dry here, but hot as hell. Today was the first day in weeks where it hasn't topped out in the 90s-100s range. Add in the humidity and its been a miserable summer so far up here in New Hampshire. My cold-weather body can't take it anymore. I'm moving to Canada....or Antarctica.

 

I think Antarctica might be your better choice

 

Central Canada has been in the 100 plus range for a month now. Out west to the Rockies, we have been up to the mid nineties since the beginning of July, but usually rewarded with a thunderstorm in the evenings.

 

A couple of weeks ago it got up to 105 in a town above the Arctic Circle

 

Those polar bears must be sweating in their coats.

[Yettie One]

We had a sever drought in Zimbabwe when I was a young lad in the late 80's that was no fun. Water rationing and failed crops. Food prices went ballistic, and we had to import food aid and all sorts. It's not a great experience.

I feel for the farmers watching their crops and livestock go to ruin.

 

I saw a report on the news the other day showing the roasted maize crop and struggling animals. Not good.

[Celethiel]

I know about the drought,

 

 

However the Drought in shelby... We grow cactus's here, and have my whole life for sure... There is a reason I call it a savanha...

and the nearest town down south a swamp .... However over the last two years i've been seeing oversized mushrooms... @_@

 

This year we've had quite a bit of hot (for here...lol), and a bunch of flash rainstorms...

[rockyroads]

And this is why I continue to live in western Washington. Even though I can't sympathize, I can empathize. It would be awful trying to survive soaring temps and dry, arid conditions.

 

Thanks to MikeL and Graeme for the, excuse the word, cool maps. They're fascinating. The 1934 map really shows how bad the drought was during the Depression causing the agricultural downfall - a major contributing factor of the times.

 

 

Sadly, I agree with Bill W about food prices. We'll be feeling the effects in ways other than the actual weather conditions throughout the year.

...but the food prices might get there. With the grains in short supply, the animals aren't getting the same amount of feed, so they aren't growing and will be sold off early. Then there will be a shortage of meat, and don't forget the milk. Cows need to drink lots of water to produce large quantities of milk...

 

And Mark Arbour's question about how it can be dry and humid is a good one. Does not compute in my brain.

You know what I don't get? How come it's so freaking dry, there's this big drought going on, but it's still humid? WTF?

 

Edited July 21, 2012 by rockyroads

[reddirtwriter]

Brown and crunchy with heat, not my favorite kind of weather. The cost of food is going to skyrocket too, just can't wait for that.

[Curti]

I think we need some of that rain.... It's always dry here, but I'm a touch sick of seeing plumes of smoke from wildfires and hearing everything from guns to cars parked in grass to backhoes started them. Then to see us listed as extreme drought on top of already being the second driest state, I'm actually getting nervous.