Half of Texas now under 'exceptional' drought

A devastating drought tightened its grip on Texas over the last week with more than half the state now suffering the most extreme level of drought measured by climatologists.

A report released Thursday from a consortium of national climate experts said over the last week, Texas saw the highest levels of drought — rated as "exceptional" — jump from 43.97 percent of the state to 50.65 percent of the state.

Texas Drought

My poor state is suffering. I'm in one of the wettest parts of Texas and we have barely seen any rain in the past couple months. Lake levels are down, river levels are down, and water tastes pretty bad. It's going to get worse before it gets better, methinks.

/TOA

Wow, this could be the costliest drought on record for the state that is the second largest agriculture producer. We produce the most cotton of all the states:

Texas, whose 3-year average production was over 6.2 million bales of cotton for the years 2006 through 2008, is the leading cotton-producing state.

National Cotton Council

Cotton crops are being devastated. Wheat crops are dying, and we are one of the largest exporters of wheat. Cattle ranches are suffering as hay production is destroyed and cattle are dying off. This doesn't just affect Texas, it affects the entire U.S.

/TOA

reply to post by The Old American


Too bad they can't drain some of the excess water from the Mississippi and drop some of it in Texas. I know up north we've had our fair share of wet weather.

here is the drought monitor (pic)
Link

Sidenote...interesting how the major drought area is also the area that generally denies global warming/climate destablization.

Perhaps mother earth is trying to get a message across...

Originally posted by WeRpeons
reply to post by The Old American

 

Too bad they can't drain some of the excess water from the Mississippi and drop some of it in Texas. I know up north we've had our fair share of wet weather.

Oh I know. Y'all have had more than your share. Flooding up north and dust down south. The U.S. has been hit hard this year.

/TOA

I just got done driving up through the LBJ Grasslands and North to Nocona and back towards Fort Worth, I was really surprised at how green it was up there. Wildflowers everywhere and this time of year there is usually hardly any left. But you head towards Abilene and it is just a waste land of brown they need rain so bad. Even in the DFW metro they are still 2.36 inches under for the year. Supposed to get a few days next week with rain hopefully the 20% chance on the three days get bumped up, minus severity please.

Originally posted by unicomsol
here is the drought monitor (pic)
Link

Sidenote...interesting how the major drought area is also the area that generally denies global warming/climate destablization.

Perhaps mother earth is trying to get a message across...

I don't think it's denying that the world's climate may be changing but that man has created this change

Originally posted by Goradd

Originally posted by unicomsol
here is the drought monitor (pic)
Link

Sidenote...interesting how the major drought area is also the area that generally denies global warming/climate destablization.

Perhaps mother earth is trying to get a message across...

I don't think it's denying that the world's climate may be changing but that man has created this change

Actually, plenty are still in the school that deny the change all together.
some are now starting to take a slow lean towards "something" happening...but are basically trying to ignore any possible corporate responsibility.

The whole discussion however is nerfed...it needs to be about solutions..high yield technological machines to balance out what is going wrong, be it by pumping reflective particles in the thermosphere, or simply starting a actual energy revolution, with massive projects to create dams, wind farms, solar highways, etc...so that even if the effects are minimal towards cutting down the heating, at the very least we get off fossle fuels and stop supporting the worst areas on earth and the most evil corporations..

but it instead will be bickered and argued until we are living on the planet dune.

I live in west texas near hobbs new mexico. It is the dryest year I've ever seen. Normally by this time we are being invaded by mosquitos, flys and ogher annoying insects. This year though, I have yet to be mosquito bitten, there are considerably fewer flies, I don,t even see as many jackrabbits. Its gotta be a bad sign when there isn't enough moisture to support insects.

Originally posted by Bobaganoosh
I live in west texas near hobbs new mexico. It is the dryest year I've ever seen. Normally by this time we are being invaded by mosquitos, flys and ogher annoying insects. This year though, I have yet to be mosquito bitten, there are considerably fewer flies, I don,t even see as many jackrabbits. Its gotta be a bad sign when there isn't enough moisture to support insects.

Agreed. Last week a trip from Austin To Santa Fe NM and back I only saw brown grass and red dust from Roswell to San Angelo. Visibility was down to 10-20 feet sometime. And now the temps are climbing from the low 90s into the 100 degrees region. The dust bowl is back and it is bigger than ever.

Originally posted by unicomsol

Originally posted by Goradd

Originally posted by unicomsol
here is the drought monitor (pic)
Link

Sidenote...interesting how the major drought area is also the area that generally denies global warming/climate destablization.

Perhaps mother earth is trying to get a message across...

I don't think it's denying that the world's climate may be changing but that man has created this change

Actually, plenty are still in the school that deny the change all together.
some are now starting to take a slow lean towards "something" happening...but are basically trying to ignore any possible corporate responsibility.

It is undeniable that the climate of Earth is changing. Anyone that disputes it has an agenda. Why it's changing is up for debate. I personally believe it's a natural cycle exacerbated by human industry. But I think that saying humans are the only cause is not knowable at this time.

/TOA

Originally posted by unicomsol

Originally posted by Goradd

Originally posted by unicomsol
here is the drought monitor (pic)
Link

Sidenote...interesting how the major drought area is also the area that generally denies global warming/climate destablization.

Perhaps mother earth is trying to get a message across...

I don't think it's denying that the world's climate may be changing but that man has created this change

Actually, plenty are still in the school that deny the change all together.
some are now starting to take a slow lean towards "something" happening...but are basically trying to ignore any possible corporate responsibility.

The whole discussion however is nerfed...it needs to be about solutions..high yield technological machines to balance out what is going wrong, be it by pumping reflective particles in the thermosphere, or simply starting a actual energy revolution, with massive projects to create dams, wind farms, solar highways, etc...so that even if the effects are minimal towards cutting down the heating, at the very least we get off fossle fuels and stop supporting the worst areas on earth and the most evil corporations..

but it instead will be bickered and argued until we are living on the planet dune.

Why would you want to stop or change earth's natural cycles by making man made machines that will probably make things worse....Nature will fix this drought.....

All there needs to happen is to get a hurricane....how about using harrp? for this haha

Originally posted by Bobaganoosh
I live in west texas near hobbs new mexico. It is the dryest year I've ever seen. Normally by this time we are being invaded by mosquitos, flys and ogher annoying insects. This year though, I have yet to be mosquito bitten, there are considerably fewer flies, I don,t even see as many jackrabbits. Its gotta be a bad sign when there isn't enough moisture to support insects.

Wow, I hope it's not hitting you personally too badly . I live in East Texas, just west of Dallas, and it's pretty dry here. Storms seem to skirt to the north of us, build strength and then devastate Arkansas and Missouri. Wacky weather, indeed.

/TOA

West Texas here, south of Lubbock. If you think its bad out there, try watching the rain pass you right over while wildfires spring up everywhere. It sucks hardcore. All I can say is, be prepared for Hurricane season, knowing climate change, it may not rain for months but when it does, look out.

Its time people get to planting thousands of trees and getting rid of mesquite, or this drought is never gonna end. On a side note, mulch well and drip irrigate in the meantime. Everything from gardens,grass, vineyards, orchards to shrubs need it badly.

Central Texas, just west of Austin.
I am keeping the garden alive, barely, and this is the first year deer have gotten brave enough to venture in. I live in town, never had deer in the yard or garden.
I got stung today by a yellow jacket AND a red wasp, two different occasions same day. I was watering and even the bugs are dying of thirst it seems.
This is really bad. The weeds can handle it, but I don't want a yard full of weeds. I think we could handle a hurricane, if some rain is involved.

Texas and New Mexico are the hardest hit drought states now. New Mexico is seeing the most extreme drought conditions and out of control wild fires everywhere. West Texas is getting some rain now , but not much, I don't think it will last. Eastern Arizona is on fire with 60,000 acres burned as of today in the Wallow winderness. Albuquerque NM, the entire city is covered is smoke because of the Wallow fire. Albuquerque covered in smoke I made post about that on the forum.

The southwest United States will be in more flames soon with more drought coming. there is no end in site that I can see. Texas and New Mexico crops are getting so hard hit right now,some farmers are plowing the crops under.

Texas and New Mexico reported this week No apple crops for this year. Yet more crops to follow that same demise soon.

Were going to need a bunch of these soon to put out fires and drop water for the crops.
Evergreen Airlines Boeing 747 Fire Plane Supertanker VLAT

reply to post by SJE98


I read your thread. I hope you're not hit personally by any of that. This is a crazy weather year in America. And hurricane season is upon us.

/TOA

not looking so good for the US as a whole apparently

The worst Texas drought since record-keeping began 116 years ago may crimp an oil and natural- gas drilling boom as government officials ration water supplies crucial to energy exploration..“It’s pretty dry down here and a lot of oil companies are looking for water,” Mace said. ..The water crisis in Texas, the biggest oil- and gas- producing state in the U.S.

About 94 percent of Texas was in a state of severe, extreme or exceptional drought as of June 7, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor compiled by the U.S. Agriculture Department and the National Drought Mitigation Center. The October-through-May period was the state’s driest since record-keeping began in 1895, said Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon.
www.bloomberg.com...

as for the flies and mosquitoes, sounds like good news

Entomologists Dr. Yao and Dr. Yuan of China studied more than 378,046 common house flies and estimated that each carried no less than 1,941,000 bacteria on their bodies. Indeed Flies are probably responsible for more deaths among humans then any perceived atrocities we may have misguidedly thrust upon them.

They are depicted in the oldest writings from the ancient world. Hieroglyphics from Egypt (pictured here) chronicle these tormentors along the nile. Flies are referenced in the Bible as one of the plagues Moses brought down upon the house of Pharaoh.
www.flypower.com...

Flies, gnats, maggots, midges, mosquitoes, keds, bots, etc. are all common names for members of the order Diptera...One need only consider the ability of flies to transmit diseases. Mosquitoes and black flies are responsible for more human suffering and death than any other group of organisms except for the transmitted pathogens and man! Flies also destroy our food, especially grains and fruits. On the positive side of the ledger, outside their obviously essential roles in maintaining our ecosystem, flies are of little direct benefit to man.
diptera.myspecies.info...