Drought forecast: Bad to worse

Rain's picture

CommercialAppeal.com - 4/02/13

The Texas Panhandle was the center of the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. Scientists say the 2013 drought season forecast has eerie similarities to the worst droughts in U.S. history.

The Texas Panhandle was the center of the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. Scientists say the 2013 drought season forecast has eerie similarities to the worst droughts in U.S. history. Associated Press

Drought conditions in more than half of the United States have slipped into a pattern that climatologists say is uncomfortably similar to the most severe droughts in recent U.S. history, including the 1930s Dust Bowl and the widespread 1950s drought.

The 2013 drought season is already off to a worse start than in 2012 or 2011 — a trend that scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say is a good indicator, based on historical records, that the entire year will be drier than last year, even if spring and summer rainfall and temperatures remain the same.

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