According to the Glossary of Meteorology, a drought is defined as "a period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently long enough to cause a serious hydrological imbalance." With this in mind, droughts can cause serious problems, as the excessive dryness can wipe out crops, cause loss of habitats and wildlife, cause outbreaks of wildfires, and it can result in water supply shortages. When drought-related problems occur, money is lost too. Billions of dollars were lost during one of the worst droughts in United States history.
The U.S. Drought of 2007
Effects of the drought in 2007 did not stay localized to a few states. Instead, it spanned from parts of California all the way to Florida. Although some states along the way were more fortunate than others, in Florida, it was reported that the Kissimmee River went a total of 212 days without flowing waters. Minnesota, dry from the drought, suffered a wildfire that tore through nearly 115 square miles, ruining dozens of homes in the process.
In the southeast regions of the US, water was scarce and farmland had dried up; this forced local farmers to sell cattle and other livestock. Elmore County in Alabama took drastic measures when their main water supply, Lake Martin, shrank so low that their water intake pipe was exposed. The county had to bring in floating barges to add more pipe just to reach the drying up lake water.
After nearly a year-and-a-half of drought conditions, Tennessee estimated the drought to be the worst in nearly 350 years and parts of the state began purchasing water from neighboring areas. Some days, the state was forced to buy over 345,000 gallons of water per day.
Effects of the Drought
Crops suffered greatly during the drought. Soybean, wheat, cotton, and other farmers were unable to grow anything without water. An estimated $1.3 billion of crops alone was lost during this natural disaster that spread across the United States. Without hay growth, farmers lost more than crops they inevitably lost livestock due to having to sell them.
Without water, people began to think less clearly resulting in actions that cause more stress than good. When the drought began to take its toll on the south, Georgia came up with a plan to take water from the state's main water source, Lake Lanier. When Florida and Alabama got wind of this plan, the two states sued Georgia because the lake's water feeds into the Chattahoochee River and without the flow of water from the lake, sturgeons and freshwater mussels would have been unable to survive. In the end, Georgia was forced to abort the plan, but the result was years of feuding between the states.
A Brighter Drought Outlook
One upside to the droughts throughout the years is that rivers, lakes, creeks, and other waterways are low enough they can be cleaned. Over the years, debris and other pollutants block waterways and contaminate others. Many people took the disastrous droughts and turned them into a way to do some good by cleaning up what they could. When the rains finally fell, the waterways were in much better conditions where people took the initiative to help the environment.
Droughts Today
Tracking droughts is a job the National Weather Service (NWS) takes very seriously. The NWS has listings for recent and current drought conditions, two different types of monthly precipitation indexes, a drought monitor, and a map showing dry days, rain days, and days since the last rainfall. For those wishing to find out more about droughts in history, the NWS has a special section showing most US and world city droughts.
Sources:
- Manuel, John. April 2008, “ Drought in the Southeast: Lessons for Water Management ”, Environmental Health Perspectives, NIH.gov, (accessed May 6, 2011).
- O'Driscoll, Patrick and Copeland, Larry. October 2007, “Southeast Drought Hits Crisis Point”, USA Today.com (accessed May 5, 2011).
- O'Driscoll, Patrick. June 2007, “A Drought for the Ages”, USA Today.com (accessed May 5, 2011).
- “ Monitoring Drought ”, National Weather Service Forecast Office, (accessed May 6, 2011).
Annette Phillips - Annette Phillips is the Topic Editor for Natural Disasters. Phillips is also the author of Willow's Ride and a licensed Cosmetologist.
Join the Conversation