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Drought conditions improve slightly; near- to above-normal temps to persist nationwide
In the short term, temperatures are expected to rise 10 to 15 degrees above average from the Upper Great Lakes to part of the Middle Mississippi Valley; in contrast, temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below average from the Northern/Central High Plains to the Great Basin/Central Rockies, said NWS.
As of September 25, 2013, at least 1,345 counties and parishes, or 42.8% of all the U.S. counties and county equivalents, across 29 states remained agricultural disaster areas due to the drought, said USDA.
US Drought Map as of September 24, released by US Drought Monitor on September 26, 2013.
The Midwest: “By September 22, topsoil moisture was still rated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at least half very short to short in Iowa (77%), Missouri (69%), Illinois (66%), South Dakota (62%), Nebraska (61%), and Wisconsin (55%). On the same date, USDA rated at least half of the pastures in very poor to poor condition in Iowa (62%) and Wisconsin (58%). And, more than one-quarter of the corn and soybeans were rated very poor to poor in Wisconsin (29 and 29%, respectively), Missouri (27 and 33%), and Iowa (27 and 29%).” U.S. Drought Monitor reported.
The Great Plains: “Despite all of the rain, rangeland and pastures across some parts of the Great Plains continued to suffer from the cumulative effects of multiple drought years. On September 22, rangeland and pastures were rated at least one-third very poor to poor several states, including Texas (54%), Colorado (43%), Nebraska (40%), and Kansas (36%).”
The Lower Mississippi Valley: “… topsoil moisture was still rated 41% very short to short in Arkansas and Louisiana, although those numbers represented a significant improvement from the previous week’s figures of 78 and 52%, respectively.”
The West: “No changes in the drought depiction were yet introduced in the Northwest, but the region will be monitored as precipitation continues to spread inland.”
Hawaii and Alaska: “From September 1-24, Hilo’s rainfall totaled just 2.17 inches (28% of normal). Near the southern tip of the Big Island, very poor pasture conditions led to degradation from severe to extreme drought (D2 to D3). […] Fairbanks reported its first autumn freeze (29°F) on September 15, followed 3 days later by its first measurable snowfall (0.6 inch). Meanwhile, heavy precipitation fell in non-drought areas of southeastern Alaska, where Ketchikan netted 12.22 inches of rain from September 15-23.”
USDA declares drought disaster in 19 additional counties in four states
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated a total of 19 counties in four states—Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and California—as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.
The latest designations, issued on June 26, include both primary and contiguous disaster areas.
Colorado: Archuleta, Mineral, Conejos, Hinsdale, La Plata,
Rio Grande and Saguache counties.
New Mexico: Rio Arriba and San Juan counties.
California: San Diego, Imperial, Orange and Riverside counties.
Texas: Reeves, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos and Ward counties.
U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of June 26, 2013. A total of at least 1,267 counties across 28 states are currently designated as [primary or contiguous] drought disaster areas.
USDA has designated 31 additional counties across seven states as Agricultural Disaster Areas due to damages and losses caused by several ongoing drought. The designations include both primary and contiguous disaster areas.
A total of at least 1,266 counties across 28 states are currently designated as [primary or contiguous] drought disaster areas.
The latest disaster designations are in the following states
Texas
Colorado
Arizona
Utah
New Mexico
Oregon
Nevada
U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of June 12, 2013. A total of at least 1,266 counties across 28 states are currently designated as [primary or contiguous] drought disaster areas.
Disaster declared due to drought and deluge, excessive rain and high winds, lightning and tornadoes, frost and freezing temperatures…
USDA has designated 50 counties across nine states as Agricultural Disaster Areas due to damages and losses caused by several climatic or weather-related disasters. The designations include both primary and contiguous disaster areas.
The disaster designations are
Arizona: 6 counties designated as drought disaster areas due to ongoing drought
Arkansas – Designation #1: 14 counties declared as disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by frost and freezing temperatures that occurred April 18-22, 2013.
Arkansas – Designation #2: 7 counties declared as disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by high winds, hail and a tornado that occurred April 27, 2013.
Florida: 8 counties declared as primary or contiguous disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain, high winds, hail, lightning and tornadoes that occurred May 2-5, 2013.
Idaho: Fremont County, ongoing drought
Louisiana: 2 counties declared as disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by frost and freezing temperatures that occurred April 18-22, 2013.
Missouri: 2 counties declared as disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by frost and freezing temperatures that occurred April 18-22, 2013.
Montana: 6 counties designated as drought disaster areas due to ongoing drought
Oklahoma: 2 counties declared as disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by frost and freezing temperatures that occurred April 18-22, 2013.
Wyoming: 2 counties due to ongoing drought
U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of June 5, 2013. A total of at least 1,260 counties across 28 states are currently designated as [primary or contiguous] drought disaster areas.
US Drought Map as of June 4, 2013, released by US Drought Monitor on June 6, 2013.
Drought Disaster Plagues at least 1,260 Counties across the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 72 additional counties in nine states as agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought.
The latest designations including both primary and contiguous disaster areas are:-
Texas: Total of 20 counties including Aransas, Atascosa, Crane, Bexar, Ector, La Salle a, Medin, Refugio, Ward, Calhoun, Frio, Live Oak, Neuces, San Patricio, Wilson, Crockett, Karnes, McMullen, Pecos and Upton.
Utah: 13 Counties including Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, Beaver, Emery, Juab, Utah, Carbon, Garfield, Millard, Wayne Rich and Summit.
Montana: 9 Counties including Jefferson, Madison, Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Lewis and Clark, Silver Bow, Broadwater, Gallatin and Powell.
Idaho: 7 Counties including Canyon, Owyhee, Payette, Washington, Bear Lake, Bonneville and Cariboulll.
Nebraska: 6 Counties including Nuckolls, Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Thayer and Webster.
Nevada: 6 Counties including Humboldt, Eureka, Elko, Lander, Nye and White Pine.
Wyoming: Lincoln, Uinta, Sublette, Sweetwater and Teton counties.
Oregon: Malheur, Baker, Grant and Harney counties.
Kansas: Adams and Clay counties.
U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of May 29, 2013. A total of at least 1,260 counties across 28 states are currently designated as [primary or contiguous] drought disaster areas.
Rare Tornado Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Milan, Italy
A ferocious tornado struck the northeastern outskirts of Milan, destroying buildings, overturning trucks, uprooting trees
“It kept growing and growing. It was like having the engine of a plane next to me,” said a local resident.
Milan has a population of about 1.35 million; however, its urban area is the largest in Italy, and 5th largest in the EU, with a population of more than 5.2 million. The Milan metropolitan area is located within the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest industrial output.
-oOo-
U.S. Drought Eases in the Northeast
Rain threatens yields in the US Midwest
“Additional rainfall from late Thursday into the weekend will further stall corn and soybean plantings in the U.S. Midwest, threatening to trim acreage and yield potential for each crop, an agricultural meteorologist said on Thursday,” said a report.
-oOo-
Hurricane Barbara slams into the Pacific Coast of Mexico
Hurricane BARBARA slammed into Mexico’s Pacific Coast Wednesday, leaving at least two people dead and 14 others missing, before being downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved north toward the Gulf of Mexico.
-oOo-
Saudi Arabia reports 3 more deaths from MERS-CoV
Saudi Arabia says three more people have died from MERS-CoV, a new respiratory virus related to SARS, bringing the global total to 30. The three victims, ranging in age from 24 to 60, had chronic diseases, the Health authorities said. A total of 38 infected cases had been reported in the country, 49 worldwide, as of May 30, 2013.
Despite major scaremongering by the World Health Organization (WHO), calling the virus a “threat to the entire world,” MERS does not appear to be as easily transmitted as SARS was.
So far, MERS has not shown any signs of sustained person to person transmission, and nearly all of fatalities have occurred in patients with underlying medical conditions.
The SARS outbreak in South China and later Hong Kong, which didn’t become a pandemic, led to 8,273 cases and 775 deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
[The novel coronavirus called “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus” (MERS-CoV) was identified in 2012 as the cause of respiratory illness in people, CDC said.]
-oOo-
DISASTER CALENDAR – May 30, 2013— SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,017 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,017 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
Drought Disaster Plagues at least 1,251 Counties across the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 28 additional counties in three states as agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought.
The latest designations which include both primary and contiguous disaster areas are: –
Montana: Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Jefferson, Meagher, Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, Ravalli, Granite, Madison and Silver Bow counties.
Idaho: Clark, Fremont and Lemhi counties.
Texas: Anderson, Pecos, Brewster, Crockett, Houston, Reeves, Cherokee, Freestone, Jeff Davis, Terrell, Crane, Henderson, Leon and Ward counties.
U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of May 22, 2013. A total of at least 1,251 counties across 28 states are currently designated as [primary or contiguous] drought disaster areas.
40% of all U.S. counties and county-equivalents currently designated as drought disaster areas*
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 28 additional counties in Texas as agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought.
The Primary Disaster Areas are Ector, Leon, Madison, Houston, Liberty and San Jacinto counties.
The Contiguous Disaster Areas are Anderson, Andrews, Angelina, Brazos, Chambers, Cherokee, Crane, Freestone, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Jefferson, Limestone, Midland, Montgomery, Polk, Robertson, Trinity, Upton, Walker, Ward and Winkler counties.
[* The designations include both Primary and contiguous disaster areas. U.S. has a total of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents]
US Drought Map
Drought Map for the Contiguous US. Drought Conditions as of May 14, 2013, released by US Drought Monitor on May 16, 2013. Map shows fractional changes in the drought conditions since last week.
Drought levels D0 – D4 spread to 62.42 percent of Contiguous U.S.
The West is worst affected section of the country, with D0 – D4 drought levels covering 86.54 % of the region, up from 80.44% last week, while the Northeast experiences significant increase in D0 – D1 drought levels.
US Drought Map as of May 7, 2013, released by US Drought Monitor on May 9, 2013.
U.S. Regional Drought Comparison Map. Drought has spread and intensified in the West and Northeast U.S. since last week. Image source: U.S. Drought Monitor.
U.S. Northeast Drought
D1 drought level covered 9.81 percent of the region, up from 0.0% last week.
Areas covered by D0 – D1 drought levels increased to 54.33%, up from 31.06%.
Drought Disaster Declared for 103 Counties, Freeze and Frost for 16
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared agricultural disaster for 119 counties across 10 states.
103 counties across 9 states have been designated as Drought Disaster areas, both primary and contiguous, due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. Those states are Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
16 additional counties across two states have been declared disaster areas due to losses caused by frosts and freezes that occurred March 26-29, 2013. Those states are Florida and Georgia.
U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of May 8, 2013. A total of at least 1,231 counties across 28 states are currently designated as [primary or contiguous] drought disaster areas.
40 additional counties across five states declared drought disaster areas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 40 additional counties across five states as primary or contiguous disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.
The disaster areas spread across Arizona (10 counties), Florida (15), Nevada (1), Texas (11) and Utah (3).
U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of May 1, 2013. A total of at least 1,183 counties across 27 states are currently designated as agricultural [primary or contiguous] disaster areas.
USDA declares drought disaster for dozens of counties in Texas, California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 37 counties in five states—Texas, California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona—as primary or contiguous agricultural disaster areas, due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.
The latest declaration includes the following:
Texas: Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Coleman, Comal, Concho, Crane, Crockett, Ector, Glasscock, Guadalupe, Kendall, McCulloch, Medina, Menard, Midland, Reagan, Runnels, Schleicher, Tom Green, Upton and Wilson counties.
California: Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono and Tuolumne counties.
Utah: Beaver, Iron, Millard and Washington counties.
Nevada: Clark, Lincoln, Nye and White Pine counties.
Arizona: Mohave County.
US Drought Map as of April 23, 2013, released by US Drought Monitor on April 25, 2013.
Texas and Florida counties declared drought disaster areas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 22 counties in Texas and Florida as primary or contiguous disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.
The designated drought disaster areas in Texas are
PDA: Calhoun and Jackson counties.
CDA: Aransas,Colorado, Lavaca, Matagorda, Refugio, Victoria and Wharton counties.
The designated drought disaster areas in Florida are
PDA: Alachua, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties.
CDA: Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Union and Volusia counties.
US Drought Map as of April 16, 2013, released by US Drought Monitor on April 18, 2013.
USDA designates 202 counties in 13 states as agricultural disaster areas due to drought
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 202 additional counties in 13 states as primary and contiguous disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the recent drought.
Those states are California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
The worst hit state this week was Nebraska with 89 counties designated as primary disaster areas and 3 others as contiguous disaster areas.
Texas was second with 25 counties, followed by Wyoming where 23 counties were designated as drought disaster areas.
US Drought Map as of April 9, 2013, released by US Drought Monitor on April 11, 2013.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 32 counties in Texas as drought disaster areas, due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.
U.S. Drought Disaster Map. This USDA/FSA map shows 1,044 counties designated as drought disaster areas across 25 states, as of April 3, 2013.
The designation include both primary and contiguous disaster areas. The counties are:
(PDA) Brazos, Frio, Harris, Wharton, Colorado, Grimes and Montgomery.
(CDA) Atascosa, Dimmit, La Salle, Madison, Uvalde, Austin, Fayette, Lavaca, Matagorda, Walker, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Leon, Medina, Waller, Burleson, Galveston, Liberty, Robertson, Washington, Chambers, Jackson, McMullen, San Jacinto and Zavala.
As of April 2, 2013, more than 2/3 of Contiguous U.S. remained abnormally dry or worse.
About 52 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in moderate drought or worse, as of April 2, 2013.
The map shows 35.30 percent in severe drought or worse; 17.13 percent in extreme drought or worse; and 5.20 percent in exceptional drought, compared with 5.10 percent the preceding week.
Other Disaster Declarations
Florida.USDA has also designated 19 counties in Florida as agricultural disaster areas in three separate designations due to various disasters.
Designation #1 is for (PDA) Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties, and (CDA),Alachua, Clay, Duval, Marion and Volusia countiesdue to freezes and frosts that occurred Feb. 17 – March 4, 2013.
Designation #2 is for (PDA) Holmes and Washington counties, and (CDA), Bay, Jackson and Walton counties due to frosts, excessive rain, flooding, flash flooding and high winds that occurred Feb. 4 – March 4, 2013.
Designation #3 is for (PDA) Palm Beach County, and (CDA), Broward, Glades, Hendry, Martin and Okeechobee counties due to freezes, frosts and high winds that occurred March 3-4, 2013.
About 2/3 of Contiguous U.S. remains abnormally dry or worse
About 51.64 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in moderate drought or worse, as of March 26, 2013. The map showed 35.19 percent in severe drought or worse; 16.85 percent in extreme drought or worse; and 5.10 percent in exceptional drought, compared with 5.40 percent the preceding week.
About two-thirds of Contiguous United States remains ‘abnormally dry’ or worse
As of March 12, 2013, about 63.67 percent of Contiguous U.S. was ‘abnormally dry’ or worse (D0 – D4 drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale).
More than 95 percent of High Plains was ‘abnormally dry’ or worse last week .
About 76 percent of the West, 64 percent of South, 51 percent of Midwest, and 45 percent of Southeast were also in D0 – D4 drought conditions last week.
U.S. Drought Map for March 12, 2013; released by the U.S. Drought Monitor on March 14, 2013.
US Drought 2013: No major change reported this week
As of March 5, 2013, about 65.67 percent of Contiguous U.S. was “abnormally dry” or worse, D0 – D4 drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale.
U.S. Drought Map for March 5, 2013; released by the U.S. Drought Monitor on March 7, 2013.
Weather Hazards forecast for Friday across the U.S.
‘Snow, heavy at times, will impact the Upper Great Lakes, Washington and Oregon Cascades, and northern Rockies on Friday. Meanwhile, significant ice accumulations are possible for the central Appalachians. Further south, severe thunderstorms may develop along the central Gulf Coast, with heavy rainfall capable of river and/or flash flooding from southern Mississippi to the eastern Carolinas.’ NOAA forecasters reported.
The storm brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to the U.S. Midwest on Thursday, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations.
The system is forecast to hit the East Coast, dumping heavy snow on parts of New England for a third consecutive weekend.
Earlier, NWS issued a Winter Storm Warning for all of Kansas, nearly all of Missouri, as well as most of Nebraska and Iowa. Advisories were also issued for parts of South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, northern Texas and Arkansas.
Kansas Governor has already signed an emergency declaration for all 105 Kansans counties yesterday, shutting down all state offices in the Executive Branch.
A state of emergency has been declared in Missouri in response to the severe winter storm.
“A severe winter storm continues to bear down on communities across the state,” said Gov. Jay Nixon. “Missouri stands ready to help communities in need and to deploy the resources to keep folks safe. I urge all Missourians to keep a close eye on the weather and avoid unnecessary travel.”
Tornadoes Strike MS and LA
SPC received 18 storm reports including 3 tornadoes in Mississippi and Louisiana on Thursday.
Moderate to heavy damage reported in counties Jefferson Davis (MS), as well as Concordia and Vernon (LA).
SPC filtered storm reports- 21 Feb 2013.
US Drought Monitor
As of February 19, 2013 more than two-thirds of Continental U.S. was experiencing drought or was abnormally dry. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported. The report was prepared before the current winter storm, which may have alleviated the drought conditions in parts of the High Plains.
US Drought Map for February 19, 2013, Released by the U.S. Drought Monitor on February 21, 2013. The map was prepared before the current winter storm.
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February 22, 2013 – DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,114 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,114 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,129 Days Left
[February 7, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,129 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …
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Global Disasters/ Significant Events
USDA declares 58 additional counties across 8 states drought disaster areas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 58 counties in 8 states as primary and contiguous disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the recent drought.
The latest disaster list includes counties in the states of Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.
Major winter storm is forecast for parts of the Northeast and New England Friday into Saturday. “This Nor’easter-type storm system will bring strong winds and heavy snow to the region. Eastern New England will see the greatest effects, and a Blizzard Watch has been issued for Boston and surrounding areas.” NOAA reported.
More than 87 percent of US High Plains remains in severe drought or worse
FIRE-EARTH Forecast: Persistent heatwaves and other factors disrupting the continental precipitation patterns could significantly intensify and spread the drought in the U.S. over the coming months.
[WARNING to ALL plagiarizers, intellectual property thieves, copycat bloggers and unscrupulous “weather experts”: Do NOT plug the above forecast into your climate models or work your way backwards to make additional deductions like before …]
More than 67 percent of the US Midwest, about 69 percent of the South and 70 percent of the Southeast were abnormally dry or in drought conditions (D0 – D4), as of January 29, 2013.
Drought conditions for the U-S, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico: 68.87 percent in D0 to D4 (from 48.78% a year ago)
Conditions for the Contiguous U-S: 69.73 percent in D0 to D4 (from 58.20% a year ago. Source: National Drought Mitigation Center)
U.S. Drought Monitor – High Plains – 29 January 2013.
Nearly half of U.S. in ‘Severe’ to ‘Exceptional’ drought
‘Severe’ to ‘Exceptional’ drought conditions (D2 – D4) have increased to 45.57 percent in the lower 48 states, a rise of more than 3 percent since last week.
About two-thirds (63.86%) of the United States remains in moderate drought or worse.
During the 2012 crop year, USDA has designated 1,369 counties across 31 states as disaster areas—1,234 due to drought. The drought disaster declaration list also includes numerous other counties designated as contiguous disaster areas. [NOTE: There are 3,143 counties and county-equivalents in the U.S.]
Nearly a third of the Midwest is in extreme drought, about three time as much as previous week.
Central U.S. is the worst hit region with continued widespread intensification of drought.
‘Extreme’ and ‘Exceptional’ drought levels (D3 – D4) prevail in 20.57 percent of the Contiguous 48, compared with 13.53 percent a week earlier.
The areas experiencing ‘Exceptional’ drought level (d4) has more than doubled to 2.38 percent of the lower 48 since July 17 report.
Hawaii and Alaska have not reported any change in the drought conditions.
Drought Map for Continental U.S., July 24, 2012. (Released July 26, 2012)
“We’ve seen tremendous intensification of drought through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, Kansas and Nebraska, and into part of Wyoming and South Dakota in the last week,” said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist and U.S. Drought Monitor author. “The amount of D3 developing in the country has increased quite a bit for each of the last several weeks.”
The current U.S. Drought Monitor shows that every state in the country had at least a small area shown as abnormally dry or worse. “It’s such a broad footprint,” Fuchs said.
“This drought is two-pronged,” he said. “Not only the dryness but the heat is playing a big and important role. Even areas that have picked up rain are still suffering because of the heat.”
Drought Comparison Maps for Continental U.S., July 17 – 24, 2012. (Released July 26, 2012)
Comparison Maps for July 10 and July 17, 2012.
U.S. Drought Comparison Maps for July 3 and July 10, 2012.
U.S. Drought Comparison Maps for June 26 and July 3, 2012
Dryness and drought, exacerbated by above-normal temperatures, have been increasing both in extent and intensity across much of the central and northern U.S. Source: NOAA/ NWS/ NCEP/ Climate Prediction Center
Nearly two-thirds of Continental U.S. in drought condition
More than 42 percent of the lower 48 states were in SEVERE, EXTREME or EXCEPTIONAL Drought Conditions (D2-D4) as of July 17, 2012, a rise of over 5 percent since last week.
As of July 17, 2012, all of the Continental U.S. with the exception of Maine is experiencing Abnormally Dry or Drought Conditions (D0 -D4) in full or in parts of the states, a situation which has since worsened due to lack of precipitation and a heat wave in the past two days.
More than 81 percent of the Contiguous United States was Abnormally Dry or in Drought Conditions (D0 – D4).
U.S. Drought Map for July 17, 2012, released July 19.
Comparison Maps for July 10 and July 17, 2012.
U.S. Drought Comparison Maps for July 3 and July 10, 2012.
U.S. Drought Comparison Maps for June 26 and July 3, 2012
Dryness and drought, exacerbated by above-normal temperatures, have been increasing both in extent and intensity across much of the central and northern U.S.Source: NOAA/ NWS/ NCEP/ Climate Prediction Center
Fire Earth 
