Drought In The South Central U.S. Expected To Persist Through October, Says Climate Experts
August 10, 2011 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis This summer, we’ve all felt at least a few days of scorching 100 degree heat, but nowhere in the United States has it been felt more than in the country’s south central region.
Earlier this week, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that, “Persistent, scorching heat in the central and eastern regions of the United States shattered long-standing daily and monthly temperature records last month.
“The South climate region – Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas – had the warmest single calendar month for any region on record. Dallas exceeded 100° F on 30 of the 31 days in July. ”
While many states are beginning to feel a relieving cooling this month, experts are unfortunately predicting that states in the Texas and Oklahoma region will have to endure this roasting until mid-fall.
The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook came out last week with data from NOAA, saying that, “Climate anomalies attributed to the Summer 2010 – Spring 2011 La Niña event prompted widespread drought development and intensification across the southern tier of the United States.
“In many locations, significant deterioration occurred, with the Great Plains experiencing the worst impacts. Apart from the relief afforded by isolated thunderstorms, or a tropical system, drought conditions are anticipated to persist over the south central states through the August – October period.”