National Drought Mitigation Center
While winter storms brought incremental relief, drought intensified in Oklahoma in the week that ended Dec. 10, 2013, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The proportion of the contiguous 48 states in moderate drought or worse declined slightly to 30.28 percent from 30.59 percent a week earlier. This represents the smallest areal coverage of drought in the contiguous U.S. since Dec. 27, 2011.
From the Drought and Impact Summary for November 2013:
U.S. drought coverage declined slightly in November. It’s now less than half of what it was a year ago, but some areas, notably California and Texas, are contending with hydrologic drought and associated water supply issues.
Drought-related environmental impacts mentioned this month include stress on coastal aquatic life from increased salinity and reduced habitat for migratory butterflies.
Read about these and other November developments in the full report: http://drought.unl.edu/NewsOutreach/MonthlySummary/November2013DroughtandImpactSummary.aspx
Drought in the United States changed very little in the week that ended Dec. 3, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The biggest change was in Alaska, where above-normal precipitation almost completely eliminated a patch of moderate drought that covered 5 percent of the state a week earlier, and more than a quarter of the state in August.
Drought is no stranger in the western United States, and there are signs that it may soon become an even more enduring problem. In response, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is looking for partners in its Drought Relief Corps (DRC), a new service program being developed to help communities prepare for drought, lessen its impact when it comes, and recover from its effects.
Rain and snow from Southern California to the Gulf of Mexico helped diminish drought in the week that ended Nov. 26, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. “Well-placed storm systems continued to reduce the coverage of U.S. drought, with just 30.57 percent of the lower 48 States in drought on Nov. 26. This is a decline of 1.88 percentage points from a week ago and represents the smallest U.S. drought coverage since Dec. 27, 2011,” said Brad Rippey, meteorologist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Economist. “Based on the definitions of drought employed in the production of the U.S. Drought Monitor, historical U.S. drought coverage should average near 20 percent. The last time contiguous U.S. drought coverage was below 20 percent was Dec. 14, 2010.”