drought (Page 12)

Drought and the wildfires that accompany it is spreading across the entire United States and hitting the Western states especially hard. Much of this is due to low snow accumulation during the previous winter months. The West especially counts on snow melt to provide enough water to last the rest of the year.

At this point, even heavy rains won?t bring enough water to alleviate drought conditions, which are likely to persist in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. The areas around where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah connect have been rated ?exceptional? by the U.S. Weather Service, which is its most severe category.
read more

Almost 90,000 acres have burned in wildfires in Colorado and now the out-of-control fire is headed for Denver. People still talk about the Chicago fire, a century ago, but no major city has burned for years. Will Denver burn?

Forest fires are not uncommon in Colorado but this one, started by sparks from a campfire, is the largest in Colorado history. How can a few sparks start such a huge conflagration? The answer is drought: due to global warming, there?s been less snow, thus less summer snow melt. This means less water and one of the driest years in history, with trees ready to burst into flame. The resin in some pine trees can even burst into flame spontaneously if the weather gets hot and dry enough.
read more

Tiny microbes could be controlling our weather in an attempt to survive, according to Dr. Bruce Moffett and his team from the University of East London. They believe the airborne bacteria may be behind the formation of clouds and rainfall. The ability to manipulate the environment in this way would help the microbes survive and multiply.
read more

The High Plains in southeastern Colorado were the heart of the 1930s Dust Bowl, and conditions today are as dry as they were 70 years ago. John Stulp, a wheat farmer, says, “We had to come out here with a chisel and chisel up these dirt clods, bring them up on the surface to keep the topsoil from blowing around.” Stulp says his farm hasn’t received any measurable rain in nearly a year and he’s already lost his winter wheat crop.

In the nearby Arkansas River Valley, corn farmer Bob Wilger has the same problem?no water. The Amity Canal, built in 1860, usually carries runoff from melted mountain snow, but this year it has delivered only one “run.” “I’m not sure how we’ll get through it all, ” Wilger says. “We’ll find a way, but I don’t know how it will all come about.” read more