Much of U.S. Entering Fall in Moderate to Severe Drought

A senior meteorologist with AccuWeather says much of the country has entered fall in drought conditions. Brett Anderson said, “Drought covers a large portion of the Northeast all the way down the lower Mississippi Valley, up through the Midwest. And then, of course, you have the Western states and their usual drought out there, so we’re looking at very extensive, moderate to severe, drought across the lower 48, kind of unusual to see it covering that much area.”

He says forecasts are calling for more of the same. “Looks like through the end of October temperature is going to be above normal, if not well above normal. “Precipitation is likely to be near to slightly below normal.”

Anderson says one positive aspect of above-normal temperatures is that the threat of an early freeze is greatly diminished for most of the country.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

The challenge with moderate to severe drought is playing catch up. Recharging the groundwater and bringing moisture levels back to “normal” could take some time. As we noted in last week’s AIR, river levels are also dangerously low, especially the Mississippi and Ohio rivers where huge amounts of grain are typically transported to the Gulf of America. The drought conditions also impact beef production and cause ranchers to reduce the size of their herds if the conditions persist. Drought conditions are not good for agriculture.

You might be able to suggest, however, that if the farmers/ranchers in your area purchase a truck from you, they receive AgPack®. One of our prominent partners is Reinke irrigation. That could help relieve some of the drought stress.