USDA Seasonal Drought Outlook Absolutely Stunning; Forecast Says Likely To Intensify Through October

[hatrack]

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A double-barreled dose of bad news came out Thursday: Not only did the drought worsen over the last week, but it's likely to widen and intensify through the end of October, according to the seasonal outlook prepared by government forecasters.

"Unfortunately, all indicators (short and medium-term, August, and August-October) favor above normal temperatures," the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center said in its Seasonal Drought Outlook released Thursday.

"We don't see a reason to say it will improve," Kelly Helm Smith, a specialist at the National Drought Mitigation Center, told reporters. "I'm in the Midwest," she said, referring to her office at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, "it's really unpleasant."

The outlook noted that "a dramatic shift in the weather pattern" would be required "to provide significant relief to this drought, and most tools and models do not forecast this." Drought could take hold in the northern plains by October, the Climate Prediction Center added.

EDIT

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/19/12832813-drought-widens-over-past-week-unlikely-to-yield-through-october

[enough]

1. k&r (nt)

[phantom power]

2. Through October

Ponies for everyone!

[Systematic Chaos]

4. What if we'd rather ride the white horse?

because instead I'll fucking

[emmadoggy]

3. Well that's just wonderfully dreadful news.

[joshcryer]

5. Lived in Colorado Springs for 15 years, never experienced it like this.

Normally during the summer we have evening showers, pretty consistently, because the mountain waters evaporate and the clouds obscure the sun, and it cools down and rains. Last year it rained pretty much every day of the spring and summer (or was it year before last? I can't remember). We had record crops that year.

But this year we've had a handful of rain showers all summer. The clouds come but they barely cool things down. 85 at 10PM.