Droughts are intensifying in the US southwest, upper midwest, the southeast and along the east coast. Parts of every state – except Alaska and Ohio – are either abnormally dry or in some form of drought, reports Doyle Rice and Julie Snider at USA Today. Still reeling from a costly devastating southern drought in 2011, the nation is enduring more unusually parched weather. A mostly dry, mild winter has put nearly tow-thirds of the lower 48 states in “abnormally dry” or drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly federal tracking of drought. That’s the driest the US has been since September 2007. The drought is expanding into some areas where dryness is rare, such as New England, where stream flows are at or near record lows, worrying climatologists thereEast coast wildfires have become common due to the unusual dryness. In bone-dry southern Florida, water shortage warnings are being issued. Trouble also looms for water-dependent California. The state Department of Water Resources said recently that water content in California’s mountain snowpack is 45% below normal. More extreme droughts are predicted due to continued global warming.
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Drought expands throughout USA. The nation is enduring another unusually parched year. The drought is expanding into some areas where dryness is rare, such as New England. USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/weather/drought/story/2012-04-11/mild-winter-expands-usa-drought/54225018/1
Florida left high and dry and prone to wildfires. In 2011, it was Texas that went up in flames, with a historic drought and searing heat wave leading to the worst wildfire season on record. A year later, another southern state affected by intense drought is bracing for a destructive wildfire season: Florida. Climate Central
