Hi Everybody! My Hot Friends, please come in and cool off. Drink more water and check out this Weather Report on the Drought. I collected the newest videos (short ones tonight) to give us an overview of what is likely to become the worst drought in history. I know I tend to worry about every one of You.
We will get through whatever comes our way. I encourage You all to widen your view and look at the Global Picture of the Current Weather Events happening at the same time. Unprecedented is the word in the media. Prepare your survival kits (flashlights, batteries, etc).
Stock up on water. Stock up on Food.
There will be food shortages as the crops and cows are dying. I am not trying to alarm You. These are not my conclusions. I am suggesting you prepare at least your mind.
(I know I sound like a Mother. Sorry, but I am a Mother!!!)
My Son told me yesterday he was planning to take his family to Florida for a few days. I said, No, there is a hurricane coming!!!
He is not changing his plans due to anything I say. He is grown up. I have to do what he suggests now!!!!!
Anyway, I am stocking up on beans and rice and very important-vegetable seeds.
Below is my Sunset of today.
Then the most current reports I could find on the drought, with links you can follow for more info.
Have a good weekend everybody:
Chill Out!!

Historic U.S. Drought Continues

August 2, 2012

By WeatherBug Meteorologist, John Bateman

Another week of above-normal temperatures kept much of the U.S. midsection hot and dry. Despite some relief from good rains in parts of the South and East, a historic drought marches on.

For the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, short-term dryness led to an introduction of abnormal dryness in eastern and northern Maine. While Vermont, New Hampshire, and eastern New York shared in a slight reduction of abnormal dryness compared to last week. Moderate rains across a good portion of Pennsylvania led to some improvements and this trend continued down into parts of northwestern Maryland, West Virginia and western Virginia. In the Carolinas, favorable rains improved the moderate drought along coastal South Carolina and led to a reduction of drought in eastern North Carolina as well. Low streamflows and ground water levels have led to a slight expansion of moderate drought in the Delmarva Peninsula.

In the Southeast, good rains (3 to 5 inches) fell across most of Tennessee, and parts of central Alabama also shared in good rains last week, leading to widespread improvements this week. Alabama continues to be affected by the long-term nature of a multi-year moderate-to-severe drought entrenched across the eastern half of the state. This pattern continues across the border into Georgia, which has not seen much rainfall of late either, leading to an expansion of severe-to-extreme drought conditions in north-central and northwestern locales.

Most of the Midwest registered above-normal temperatures for the period ending Tuesday morning, July 31. In fact, preliminary data show that July came in at 5-10 degrees above normal for the month. The region continues to be impacted not only by oppressive heat, but also by depleted soil moisture, desiccated pastures and widespread crop damages, livestock culling and elevated fire risk. Recent concerns have now turned to soybeans and water supply as the drought`s duration persists. Some fared a bit better than others; southern Minnesota and southern and eastern Wisconsin benefitted the most from rains, leading to general improvements this week. Rains also fell across northern Indiana and southern Michigan, leaving things pretty much unchanged from last week. That said, there is a slight expansion of severe-to-extreme drought in western and central Indiana. Much of southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky also saw measurable improvement this week, pushing the drought to the west. Longer-term impacts still remain even given the short-term relief, but parts of eastern Kentucky and Ohio are seeing a rebound in streamflows, which is a good sign. In the western half of the region, things continue to worsen across Missouri and Arkansas, with continued deterioration and encroachment of severe-to-extreme drought.

Drought expansion was noted across most of the Great Plains this week as abnormally hot temperatures (5 to 10 degrees above normal) continued to plague the region, bringing stress to pastures, crops, livestock/wildlife, trees and humans alike. Rainfall during the last week was confined to small patches in the Black Hills and northeastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota. Those areas receiving the 2- to 3-inch rains were improved somewhat in the Dakotas. The same can`t be said to the rest of the region as moderate-to-severe drought continues to advance across more of eastern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. In Kansas and the Panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, extreme drought has also expanded, given the intense conditions and extreme impacts being observed. These areas can`t seem to shake off last year`s drought and have now been dragged back into it this year, with the exception being southeastern Texas, which has continued to see a much more favorable wet pattern the past several months. In addition to the large geographic footprint of this year`s drought, the quick onset and rapid ramping up of intensity, coupled with extreme temperatures and subsequent impacts, has really left an imprint on those affected and has set this drought apart from anything we have seen at this scale over the past several decades.

The West remains relatively quiet in most parts, with the West Coast benefitting from below-normal temperatures last week as well. Warmer temperatures continue to plague the Rockies and Front Range while precipitation was mostly confined to Arizona and Colorado, where monsoon rains continue to bring relief. Changes this week on the map are marked by improvement in north-central and southwestern Colorado as well as eastern Utah. The same can`t be said for southeastern Colorado, where severe drought has now expanded to cover this region as well as northeastern New Mexico, western Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle. To the north, Montana has seen recent dryness as well, leading to a slight expansion of abnormal dryness across the northern tier counties.

Source: U.S. Drought Monitor

http://weather.weatherbug.com/weather-news/weather-reports.html?zcode=Z5831&region=8&region_name=North%20America&country=US&country_name=USA&state_code=TX&state_name=Texas&zip=77445&city_name=Hempstead&stat=PRARI&story=7912

News from the following link:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/27/u-s-extreme-drought-zones-triple-in-size/

U.S. ‘extreme drought’ zones triple in size

By Agence France-Presse
Friday, July 27, 2012 7:04 EDT

Topics: extreme drought ♦ food prices

The drought in America’s breadbasket is intensifying at an unprecedented rate, experts warned, driving concern food prices could soar if crops in the world’s key producer are decimated.

The US Drought Monitor reported a nearly threefold increase in areas of extreme drought over the past week in the nine Midwestern states where three quarters of the country’s corn and soybean crops are produced.

“That expansion of D3 or extreme conditions intensified quite rapidly and we went from 11.9 percent to 28.9 percent in just one week,” Brian Fuchs, a climatologist and Drought Monitor author, told AFP.

“For myself, studying drought, that’s rapid. We’ve seen a lot of things developing with this drought that were unprecedented, especially the speed.”

Almost two thirds of the continental United States are now suffering drought conditions, the largest area recorded since the Drought Monitor project started in 1999.

“If you are following the grain prices here in the US, they are reflecting the anticipated shortages with a price increase,” Fuchs said.

Feature Presentation: Drought Videos

From the States, Kansas: Just Push Play (3 min)