Retired scientist links moon to upcoming drought

Sioux City Journal

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Louis Thompson says he's learned to keep quiet when Iowa's crops begin to wither.

For decades, the retired soil scientist had been forming his moon theory to explain widespread drought every couple decades, but he says critics prefer to use other explanations.

"People thought I was a nut, so I quit talking about it," says Thompson, 92.

That doesn't mean he abandoned his theory. The statistics, after all, are eerily accurate.

Thompson has studied weather and crop records for almost 50 years and his research at Iowa State University pointed him to an 18.6-year cycle of drought and rainy weather that coincides with the moon's path around the Earth. When the moon's orbit is at its northernmost track above the equator -- as it is now -- the Corn Belt is due for a drought, Thompson says.

1988 was the last year when severe drought hit, which means the probabilities are mounting that dry weather could hit this year or next. With many areas of Iowa receiving less precipitation this year, Thompson is quietly pointing to his theory.

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