Earth Watch Report - Extreme Weather - Drought
...| Drought | USA | State of Minnesota, [Golden Valley region] |  |  |
| Description | |
| The metro area started the summer with heavy rains wiping out much of the drought. Now because of the lack of rain since, "severe" drought has made its way back to parts of the north metro. "The worst of the drought stretches from the St. Cloud area through the northern Twin Cities metro right down the Mississippi River through Winona," said climatologist Pete Boulay. Boulay reported the worsening drought outlook Thursday. "They're about 4 inches short at the airport. If you live in Anoka, Washington, Ramsey Counties you're about five inches short of normal," he said. "If you live down in Winona, they're missing eight inches of rain." It's turned lush lawns into crunchy fields. The more brown underneath Frank Rothanburg's shoes, the less green in his pockets. "There's no work with all the grass being dead. There ain't nothing to do," said Rothanburg. He estimates his Anoka company, Superb Lawn Care, has lost $40,000 over the summer. "We've got places we haven't mowed in three weeks now because they're just so burnt up," he said. And it's not just rain that's missing. "We've only seen maybe between 10 or 12 tornados for the year. And that's well below normal," said Boulay. And according to Rothanburg, even watering every other day isn't helping. He is now hoping "Mother Nature" steps in. "Nothing's helping. We need rain bad," said Rothanburg. |
Drought worsens in Midwest, South; affects crops
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The combination of heat and scarce amounts of rain intensified the drought in several agriculturally significant states, contributing to declining crop conditions in parts of the Midwest and South.However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a separate report Thursday the expected record corn harvest and third-largest soybean crop are on track, since areas that aren’t seeing as severe a drought will produce enough to make up for the driest regions.
Crops in states such as Kentucky and Tennessee look better than they did a month ago, the USDA said, while Iowa and Missouri are suffering from the heat.
‘‘The fringes of the corn belt are producing enough to offset Iowa’s loss,’’ said Chad Hart, agriculture economist at Iowa State University.
This week’s national drought monitor, which tracked conditions from Sept. 3 to Tuesday, shows nearly 50.7 percent of the contiguous United States is now in moderate drought or worse, up from just over 50 percent the week before.
The report said in Iowa, the nation’s largest corn producer, severe drought spread to nearly 42 percent of the state — up from 32 percent a week ago. All but two of the state’s counties, both in east-central Iowa, are experiencing some level of drought or abnormally dry conditions.
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Drought is at its largest percentage since April.
As of Tuesday, 50.7% of the contiguous USA is in a drought.
Hot, dry weather over the past week led to worsening drought in the central USA: In the Midwest, where temperatures have been as much as 10 degrees above normal over the past week, drought expanded in parts of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the monitor.
For example, since July 1, La Crosse, Wis., has received only 2.4 inches of rain, the driest July 1-Sept. 10 period on record for that location.
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