Texas suffers the most severe drought in 100 years

[RetiredGySgt]

I ask again, if this is the worst drought in 100 years, that means there have been worse droughts going back farther. So did man made global warming cause those droughts too?

 

[rdean]

And Rick Perry's answer it a "power prayer" to God. Hilarious.

Eventually, there will be rain. Perry will use that as "proof" God listened.

 

[Truthmatters]

I ask again, if this is the worst drought in 100 years, that means there have been worse droughts going back farther. So did man made global warming cause those droughts too?

Is the Texas drought over yet?

 

[rdean]

I ask again, if this is the worst drought in 100 years, that means there have been worse droughts going back farther. So did man made global warming cause those droughts too?

Is the Texas drought over yet?

Apparently not. And summer hasn't started yet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/us/19ttwater.html

These two lakes serve as key water sources for dozens of cities and hundreds of farmers, as well as for several power plants. With Texas gripped by drought, water levels have fallen sharply. Combined, the two lakes now hold 28 percent less water than their long-term average.

 

[Chris]

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The months-long Texas drought is sapping the record books bone dry and is racking up dire statistics that have never been reached since reliable record-keeping was started 116 years ago, according to figures from Texas A&M University researchers.

Don Conlee, instructional associate professor of atmospheric sciences who, along with graduate student Brent McRoberts, also assists State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon with recordkeeping, confirms that the period from February through June was by far the driest on record with a statewide average of 4.26 inches of rain. The next driest occurred in 1917 with 6.45 inches.

Also setting records: March though June, driest on record; January through June, driest on record; December through June, driest on record; November through June, driest on record; and October through June, driest on record.

The researchers noted that official weather keeping began in 1895 in Texas.

As for June, it was most definitely time to crank up the air conditioning unit: 2011 marked the hottest June ever in Texas with an average of 85.2 degrees, breaking the previous mark of 84.9 set in 1953.

"June was not only the warmest June in Texas history, it comes in as the fourth warmest month ever, which usually goes to a July or August time period," Conlee said.

Drought Scorches Record Books - San Antonio Weather News Story - KSAT San Antonio

 

[ScienceRocks]

Who cares if it happened before...The question being asked is

Lets say in the 19th century a drought like this would be a 100 year events, but today it is becoming a 50 or even a 20 year event. That is more of what we're trying to get across.

Like the floods--We once thought the 1993 event was a 100 if not a 500 year event, but it has utterly been destroyed. So it maybe a 20 or 50 year event now.

Understand?

 

[skookerasbil]

LOL....who culdnt see this thread coming a few days ago? Look for an Al appearance in the near future!!


Oh....as an aside.........summer hasnt made it to New York yet and its mid July, which is really fcukked up. The k00ks are like slugs to a saucer of beer where the heat #'s show up though.........

 

[ScienceRocks]

LOL....who culdnt see this thread coming a few days ago? Look for an Al appearance in the near future!!


Oh....as an aside.........summer hasnt made it to New York yet and its mid July, which is really fcukked up. The k00ks are like slugs to a saucer of beer where the heat shows up though.........

Either has it made it to Portland. This is one of the coldest summers I've ever seen in my 25 years on earth.

 

[skookerasbil]

LOL....who culdnt see this thread coming a few days ago? Look for an Al appearance in the near future!!


Oh....as an aside.........summer hasnt made it to New York yet and its mid July, which is really fcukked up. The k00ks are like slugs to a saucer of beer where the heat shows up though.........

Either has it made it to Portland. This is one of the coldest summers I've ever seen in my 25 years on earth.

I hear ya..........funny though. The k00ks wont talk about that............and if they do, it'll be, "See.........weather anomolies......its the damn global warming effects!!!"

Dollar to a thousand stale donuts you wont see this k00k Chris posing up a thread of, "Record cold in summer grips Portland!!"

 

[Chris]

They’re calling it The Great Drought of 2011, affecting 14 states from Florida to Arizona.

Some are comparing it to the 1930s Dust Bowl, and that has farmers scrambling to stem the damage to crops, and many ranchers selling off their herds.

Oklahoma is one of the states suffering a drought and excessive heat– in Oklahoma City, it’s been 100 degrees or higher for the last 13 days.

Pauls Valley Oklahoma rancher and farmer Trey Lam says the heat and drought are unlike anything he’s ever seen in his life, and it’s crippling his farm.

Record Drought Draws Comparisons To 1930s Dust Bowl | Here & Now

 

[Chris]

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.

In the hardest-hit areas, water-management districts are warning residents and businesses to curtail usage from rivers, lakes and aquifers. The shortage is forcing oil companies to go farther afield to buy water from farmers, irrigation districts and municipalities, said Erasmo Yarrito Jr., the state’s overseer of water supplies from the Rio Grande River.

Concern over water usage is especially acute in southern Texas’s Eagle Ford Shale area because drilling there is more water-intensive than other regions, said Robert Mace, a deputy executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board.

“It’s pretty dry down here and a lot of oil companies are looking for water,” Mace said.

Worst Drought in More Than a Century Strikes Texas Oil Boom - Bloomberg

 

[ScienceRocks]

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.

In the hardest-hit areas, water-management districts are warning residents and businesses to curtail usage from rivers, lakes and aquifers. The shortage is forcing oil companies to go farther afield to buy water from farmers, irrigation districts and municipalities, said Erasmo Yarrito Jr., the state’s overseer of water supplies from the Rio Grande River.

Concern over water usage is especially acute in southern Texas’s Eagle Ford Shale area because drilling there is more water-intensive than other regions, said Robert Mace, a deputy executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board.

“It’s pretty dry down here and a lot of oil companies are looking for water,” Mace said.

Worst Drought in More Than a Century Strikes Texas Oil Boom - Bloomberg

You have to admit that when you add up the whole United states to avg it for July with the western part being as cold as it is=cooler July then otherwise. It better be super fucking hot within the central part to balance it above normal or anywhere within the top 10.

 

[Chris]

SHAWNEE, Okla. — In response to ongoing heat and drought conditions, Gov. Mary Fallin has amended a State of Emergency declaration to include all 77 counties to ensure Oklahoma is eligible for any federal assistance that may be available.
Last week, Gov. Fallin also signed an executive order placing 45 counties under state burns bans, including Pottawatomie and Seminole counties. Most other counties in the state are under county-declared burn bans, including Lincoln County.
Joey Wakefield, emergency management director of Lincoln County, said firefighters there have been battling numerous grass fires, including an intentionally set fire near Carney that has repeatedly rekindled over the past five days.
Wakefield urges extreme caution and reminds everyone that there is no outdoor burning allowed for a reason.
“It’s so dry — we’re setting records like the 1930s drought,” he said.

Heat and drought prompts Governor to extended emergency declaration - Shawnee, OK - The Shawnee News-Star

 

[CrusaderFrank]

So the Weather Channel has it all wrong, they need to say there's a CO2 system driving the heat, right?

 

[Chris]

After nearly a year of scant rainfall, 100 percent of Texas is withering under abnormally dry conditions, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, and 75 percent is in an exceptional drought -- the worst level.

As a result, the nine major and 21 minor aquifers that supply about 60 percent of the state's water supply are declining at alarming rates, groundwater officials say.

Jack Watts, a veteran water well driller in south Fort Worth, has been getting dozens of calls a week from panicked people whose wells are drying up.

"It's as bad as I've ever seen it. It's good for us, but it's a real problem for a lot of people," he said.

"Everyone who calls says they have an emergency. I tell them a lot of people are having an emergency," said Watts, whose father started Watts Drilling Co. in 1946. It's now a fourth-generation family business, with Watts' wife, two sons, their wives and a grandson working there.

And they're all scrambling to ease a two-week backlog for lowering pumps and at least a month wait for drilling new wells, Watts said. Many customers are adding storage tanks, he said.

"That can help them get by until the aquifers recharge -- if we ever get some rain," he said.

But with Texas suffering through its driest nine months in recorded history, its hottest June ever, a long string of triple-digit temperatures in July and no letup expected in August, the problem is only expected to worsen.

Drought is taking toll on Texas aquifers | Fort Worth | News from Fort Worth, Dallas, Ar...

 

[Oddball]

I blame Reagan and Bush.

 

[rdean]

Rick Perry has it under control. He's going to hold a state wide power prayer to God to give Texas some "trickle down".

 

[CrusaderFrank]

So there was Global Warming 100 years ago too. Wow. There were no cars and maybe 2 factories in all of Texas at the time.

 

[percysunshine]

Rick Perry has it under control. He's going to hold a state wide power prayer to God to give Texas some "trickle down".

rdean, you will love Perry if he is elected. He is a liberal.

 

[Patrick2]

I blame Reagan and Bush.

No, no - it's all Haliburton's fault. And Karl Rove, too.