Hugh Bollinger / Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Code Red, D-4

Drought now affects 17 states in the southern tier of the USA with 10 states categorized by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as being in exceptional drought or Code D-4. The 2011 drought is as extreme as one that occurred in the mid-1950s and may be approaching the level of the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. The current drought now affects over one-third of the nation. [caption id="attachment_5582" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="2011 USA drought map (source: NOAA)"]

[/caption] The current drought results from the weather pattern known as La Nina, but researchers are likely re-checking their atmospheric models to see if the amplitude of La Nina's effects are being intensified by climate change influences. For folks struggling to simply stay cool, maintain agricultural productivity, or trying to avoid heat strokes, the models don't help much. They are already experiencing an extreme Code Red alert. WHB

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Tags: climate change NOAA climate models drought Dust Bowl La Nina

Code Red, D-4

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