2011 Southern US drought
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Southern US drought is a severe to extreme ongoing drought
plaguing several US states which include Texas
, Oklahoma
, Kansas
, Colorado
, New Mexico
, Arizona
, Louisiana
, Arkansas
, Mississippi
, Alabama
, Georgia, South Carolina
, and North Carolina
. The worst hit has been Texas, where near record drought has parched
the state since January. Texas suffered an estimated $5.2 billion U.S. dollars in crop and livestock losses, surpassing the previous annual record loss of $4.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2006. Texas has experienced its driest August–July (12-month) period on record .
The drought has caused severe lack of water in the southern plains
as well as numerous wildfire
s, in particular the 2011 Texas wildfires
, Wallow Fire
, and Horseshoe 2 Fire
. By the end of August, a ban on outdoor burning was in effect for 251 of the 254 Texas counties. Also on August 30th, several homes in Oklahoma City were destroyed along with 1,500 wooded acres. Several hundred homes had to be evacuated. The drought has been triggered by a strong 2011 La Niña
effect, as well as continuing desertification
of the region.
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
plaguing several US states which include Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Georgia, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The worst hit has been Texas, where near record drought has parched
Desiccation
Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container.-Science:...
the state since January. Texas suffered an estimated $5.2 billion U.S. dollars in crop and livestock losses, surpassing the previous annual record loss of $4.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2006. Texas has experienced its driest August–July (12-month) period on record .
The drought has caused severe lack of water in the southern plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
as well as numerous wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s, in particular the 2011 Texas wildfires
2011 Texas wildfires
The 2011 Texas wildfires are an ongoing series of destructive wildfires in Texas, United States that have occurred in the 2011 fire season. Statistics on the fires have been recorded since the current fire season began November 15, 2010...
, Wallow Fire
Wallow Fire
-External links:* - InciWeb Incident Information System* at University of Maryland* by the U.S. Forest Service at Flickr.com*...
, and Horseshoe 2 Fire
Horseshoe 2 Fire
The Horseshoe 2 Fire was a 2011 wildfire located along the southeastern flank of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. It began in Horseshoe Canyon on the Douglas Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest on May 8, 2011, at approximately 11:00 a.m. The fire was started by human...
. By the end of August, a ban on outdoor burning was in effect for 251 of the 254 Texas counties. Also on August 30th, several homes in Oklahoma City were destroyed along with 1,500 wooded acres. Several hundred homes had to be evacuated. The drought has been triggered by a strong 2011 La Niña
La Niña
La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C...
effect, as well as continuing desertification
Desertification
Desertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
of the region.
External links
- Drought Cripples the South: Why the 'Creeping Disaster' Could Get a Whole Lot Worse by Bryan Walsh, August 9, 2011 on TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
- Drought-fueled wildfires burn out of control in Texas by Andrew Freedman in the Washington Post September 6, 2011.
- Analysts: Southwestern US Drought Might Raise Global Food Prices by Greg Flakus September 08, 2011
- Crews battle wildfires amid severe Texas drought; 'It was unbelievable, just horrific. There were horses on fire, buildings on fire' April 12, 2011 Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
- Record Texas Drought Burns Cotton Farmers as White Gold Withers by Elizabeth Campbell September 15, 2011 on Bloomberg.com
- Epic scorching drought testing Texas' ways; Massive droughts caused by wildfires in Texas have ravaged the environment, incited a tug of war for available water, and fundamentally changed the way of life for the state’s millions of residents. by Patrik Jonsson in The Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
September 26, 2011