See how the drought has magnified during the past 12 weeks.
Drought conditions continue to spread and intensify across the
middle of the country, according to the July 24 U.S. Drought
Monitor. The map set a record for the fourth straight week for
the area in moderate drought or worse in the 12-year history of
the U.S. Drought Monitor. According to this week’s U.S. Drought
Monitor: - 53.44% of the U.S. and Puerto Rico is in moderate
drought or worse, up from 53.17% the week before - 38.11% in
severe drought or worse, compared with 35.32 a week earlier -
17.2% in extreme drought or worse, compared with 11.32% the week
before - 1.99% in exceptional drought, up from .83% the
preceding week Watch this animation from May 15 to July 24 to
see how the drought has rapidly spread across the country:
"We’ve seen tremendous intensification of drought through
Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, Kansa and Nebraska,
and into part of Wyoming and South Dakota in the last week,"
says Brian Fuchs, a climatologist and U