87% Of The Contiguous United States In Some Stage Of Drought - Highest % In Instrumental Record
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Conditions ranging from abnormally dry to various levels of drought covered a record portion of the Lower 48, according to the latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor. A remarkable 87 percent of the country had fallen into dry or drought conditions as of Oct. 31. And as a weather pattern shift continues, a swath of the central United States will remain in a transition from drought to flood concerns this week and beyond.
The recent record drought surpassed prior high marks of 85 percent in early November 2022 and 80 percent in July 2012. Statistics from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a partnership between the federal government and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, date to 2000.
Recent expansion of the drought was boosted by a historically dry October in the contiguous United States, a pattern that started shifting wetter in the central part of the country as the month closed and November began. Multiple rounds of heavy rain and severe weather over the past week indicate the peak of drought conditions is passing. Another soaking and an elevated tornado threat is on the way Monday after several days of similar weather centered in Oklahoma.
The 87 percent of the United States in abnormally dry or drought conditions as of the most recent weekly update was nearly a doubling of area covered since late June — when the value was 45 percent.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/11/04/drought-us-record-conditions-flood-forecast/
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