Lack of Rain Causing Problems in Southeast and West

Posted on October 16, 2007

Two large areas in the United States are suffering from conditions created by a lack of rainfall. In the Southeast the rain problems are extremely serious. In the graphic on the right from the U.S. Drought Monitor you can see a large area of D4 drought conditions in the Southeast U.S. D4 stands for "exceptional drought." The full description for D4 is "Exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells creating water emergencies." Many people living in these areas have never before experienced such bone dry conditions. The latest news from the D4 drought area is that Lake Sidney Lanier - the metro Atlanta areas main source of water - has a mere three months of water supply left. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the story on the disappearing lake.

ake Sidney Lanier, metro Atlanta's main source of water, has about three months of storage left, according to state and federal officials.
That's three months before there's not enough water for more than 3 million metro Atlantans to take showers, flush their toilets and cook. Three months before there's not enough water in parts of the Chattahoochee River for power plants to make the steam necessary to generate electricity. Three months before part of the river runs dry.
"We've never experienced this situation before," state Environmental Protection Division Director Carol Couch said of the record-breaking drought and fast-falling lake.
In two weeks, Couch plans to give Gov. Sonny Perdue a list of options to further restrict water use by businesses and industries, along with an analysis of potential water savings and estimated job losses. Some exemptions to the state's ban on outdoor watering in north Georgia could end, including those applied to water-dependent businesses such as car washes, pressure washing companies and landscapers. Couch's staff is still working on the details.

In Southern California a dry spell has now created the opportunity for rare dust storms to form. A dust storm yesterday in Los Angeles county caused a highway pile-up with two fatalies and 16 injuries according to MSNBC.

"It's not unheard of for the area to experience a dust storm, but it's not an everyday type of thing," said meteorologist Jaime Meier in the weather service's Oxnard office.
Like the rest of California, the Antelope Valley has been bone-dry this year, receiving less than two inches of rain. The dryness means dirt and sand are not packed down in the ground and are more likely to swirl in the face of strong winds.
"It's just loose and is able to impact visibility just the same way as a blizzard," Meier said.

If the dry spell for both these regions isn't reversed soon conditions will just continue to worsen.

WEATHER