55 Percent of Contiguous U.S. in Drought at End of June 2012 According to Monthly Report from National Climatic Data Center

On July 16, 2012, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC; a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) issued its monthly National Drought Overview and reported that 55 percent of the contiguous United States was categorized by the Palmer Drought Index as being in moderate to extreme drought as of the end of June, and 33 percent was categorized as being in severe to extreme drought.  The report, available online at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/2012/6, was widely discussed in news media as the most widespread U.S. drought since 1956 (when the same index categorized 58 percent of the contiguous United States in drought); see, for example, Drought now grips more than half of the United States; dry spell is the widest since 1956, Associated Press, as published in Washington Post, 7/16/12; U.S. drought widest since 1956, report shows, Detroit Free-Press, 7/17/12; and Worst US drought since 1956 hits residents and crops,  BBC News, 7/16/12.  For access to several drought-monitoring resources—including the NCDC’s monthly reports—please visit the Virginia Water Resources Research Center’s “Drought Watch” Web page at http://vwrrc.vt.edu/drought_watch.html.  Updates on drought in Virginia—based on the U.S. Drought Monitor, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/)–are posted twice a month in the “Weather” category at the Virginia Water Central News Grouper at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/category/weather/ (see the “Virginia Water Status” and “Drought Update” postings in that category).

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