Florida’s drought ended in May and June with help from tropical storms Beryl and Debby. But drought of historic proportions continues to build over the nation as a whole, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Data Center said in a report published Monday.
By the end of June, moderate to extreme drought conditions covered 54.6 percent of the contiguous 48 states, based on the Palmer Drought Index.
It’s already the country’s sixth most severe drought since record-keeping began in 1895, according to meteorologist Jeff Masters at Weather Underground. Conditions were worse in July 1934 (79.9 percent); December 1939 (62.1 percent); July 1954 (60.4 percent); December 1956 (57.6 percent); and September 1931 (54.9 percent).
Here’s a historical record comparing other drought indices for each month since 1895.
Leaves are falling off the trees early in southern Wisconsin due to the stress of high temperatures and little or no rain. But the impact goes beyond withered lawns in the nation’s cities and suburbs.
It’s poised to have a huge impact on food prices because livestock depends on corn. Since mid-June, the price of a bushel of corn has jumped 55 percent, according to a Bloomberg report.
In Chicago, it was 90 degrees on Saturday; 95 on Sunday and 96 on Monday. The forecast high for Tuesday was 100. The city has had just 0.56 of an inch of rain this month.
More dry weather is forecast through the end of the July, according to the National Weather Service:
Precipitation will be much below normal through the end of the month in the heart of the country’s corn production area. (Credit: NWS/ CPC)
Even if normal rains return in August, it will too late for many farmers, who have already plowed up their crops to salvage what little feed they can.
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SAHARAN DUST ATTACK TO BE ‘SHORT LIVED’ NWS SAYS: After sweltering under hazy skies on Thursday and Friday, moisture from the Caribbean should begin edging into South Florida by the weekend. Rain chances have been bumped up for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, although don’t look for a wash-out.
Four straight days of rain Thursday through Monday dropped 1.91 inches at the Palm Beach airport and have almost brought the area up to historical norms for July. More rain swept through central Palm Beach County in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
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Florida is already the lightning capital of the U.S. and close to the top of the charts worldwide. Now, a new study predicts that lightning strikes will increase 10 percent with each degree of climate warming.
It will mean additional risks of flash flooding, wild fires, and damage to power lines, says Colin Price a professor of geophysics, atmospheric and planetary sciences at Tel Aviv University.