Droughts in the United States

Drought having an acute economic impact in the history of the United States occurred during the 1930s and 1940s, periods of time known as 'Dust Bowl' years where relief and health agencies became overburdened and many local community banks had to close.

Furthermore, global La Niña meteorological events are generally associated with drier and hotter conditions and further exacerbation of droughts in California and the Southwestern and to some extent Southeastern United States.

It is hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Activities resulting in global climate change are expected to trigger droughts with a substantial impact on agriculture[12] and increased social unrest throughout the world, especially in developing nations.

Paradoxically, some proposed solutions to global warming that focus on more active techniques, solar radiation management through the use of a space sunshade for one, may also carry with them increased chances of drought.

The NIDIS Act calls for an interagency, multi-partner approach to drought monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

These were the first enduring practical programs to curtail future susceptibility to drought, creating agencies that first began to stress soil conservation measures to protect farm lands today.

[27] A megadrought struck what is now the American Southwest 1276–1299 C.E., which severely affected the Pueblo cities,[28][29] and tree rings also document drought in the lower and central Mississippi River basin between the 14th and 16th century.

Locusts also grow more quickly during a drought and gather in small spots of lush vegetation, enabling them to swarm, facts which contributed to the ruin of much of the farmland in the American West.

[36] Deep plowing of the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains had displaced the natural grasses that normally kept the soil in place and trapped moisture even during periods of drought and high winds.

During the drought of the 1930s, without natural anchors to keep the soil in place, it dried, turned to dust, and blew away eastward and southward in large dark clouds.

The Dust Bowl affected 100,000,000 acres (400,000 km2), centered on the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, and adjacent parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.

[37] Millions of acres of farmland became useless, and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes; many of these families (often known as "Okies", since so many of them came from Oklahoma) traveled to California and other states, where they found economic conditions little better than those they had left.

Author John Steinbeck later wrote The Grapes of Wrath, which won the Pulitzer Prize, and Of Mice and Men about such people.

Economic migrants also had mixed success as native workers in many areas resented the intense competition for dwindling jobs.

A widespread, 1930s-style dust storm affected the Plains and beyond on 19 February 1954 driven by winds of up to 100 mph/161 km/h, drifting soil to 3 feet/a metre deep in some areas.

The 1983 Midwestern States Drought was associated with very dry conditions, severe heat and substandard crop growth which affected prices and caused hardship for farmers.

In California, the five-year drought ended in late 1991 as a result of unusual persistent heavy rains, most likely caused by a significant El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean and the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991.

The Yellowstone National Park fell victim to wildfires that burned many trees and created exceptional destruction in the area.

[53] Dry conditions, however, increased again during 1989, affecting Iowa,[54][55][56] Illinois, Missouri, much of Nebraska,[57][58][59] Kansas, Minnesota[60][61] and some regions of Colorado.

Denver was forced to impose mandatory limits regarding water for the first time in twenty-one years, as Colorado and other states in the Southwest were hit particularly hard by the severe drought conditions in 2002.

Missouri, Arkansas, (portions of) Louisiana, Tennessee, southeast Iowa and northern Illinois were hit with severe droughts and heat during 2005.

Although reports of widespread agricultural losses were reduced in later analysis, large decreases were seen in many fish populations in the region, and additional reliance on groundwater in farming may have set the precedent for further damages in the 2012–2015 California drought.

In 2013, many places in California set all-time low precipitation records, with very little measurable rain falling across much of the state from January 2013 into mid-February 2014.

Drought conditions have led to numerous firework show cancellations and voluntary water restrictions in much of the Ozarks, Mid-Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys.

Lagging effects of La Niña, climate change, and also a large persistent upper level ridge of high pressure present over much of North America since the late winter have all contributed to the drought and above average temperatures since February 2012.

[citation needed] Because the drought conditions were forcing American farmers to sell off livestock, the Department of Defense sought to buy up meat at "fire sale" prices in order to stockpile meals for the lean times ahead.

[90] Beginning in summer 2020,[91] drought was widespread in the Dakotas,[92] New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Iowa,[93] Nebraska, and Kansas; as well as parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Minnesota.

[94][95] Lake Mead fell to a level expected to trigger federally mandated cuts to Arizona and Nevada's water supplies for the first time in history.

[citation needed] Beginning in June of 2024;[97] a historic flash drought impacted much of West Virginia and parts of Ohio and neighboring states.