Empty shells rest on the cracked bed of a dry lake in Waterloo,
Neb., on Nov. 20, 2012. / Nati Harnik, AP The catastrophic
drought in the central USA - which has cost the nation at least
$35 billion, according to a report last week - shows no signs of
abating as the nation enters the final full month of winter and
moves toward spring. Parts of every state west of the
Mississippi River - except for Washington - are enduring drought
conditions, according to Thursday's U.S. Drought Monitor, a
government website that tracks drought and is updated weekly.
"The drought is firmly entrenched as we roll toward February,"
climatologist Mark Svoboda of the National Drought Mitigation
Center writes in the monitor. A warm, dry spring seems likely:
"Unfortunately for the western Plains and eastern Rockies, I
think the drought is going to persist, and it is going to be
strong going into the springtime," AccuWeather meteorologist
Paul Pastelok says. "In the heart of the drought, it doesn't
look good right now." The Climate P