Transcript:
In 2012, spring in the Midwest warmed up early. Corn farmers planted their crops ahead of schedule, and the growing season looked promising.
But then in May and June, almost no rain fell. The extremely dry conditions stunted plant growth and devastated crop yields.
Ford: “By the time we got to mid-July, it was a really dire situation. … So that’s just a matter of maybe six weeks or so where we go from, ‘Yeah, everything’s good,’ to ‘We’re really in trouble.’”
Trent Ford, the Illinois state climatologist, says what happened in 2012 is called a flash drought.
It’s when a lack of rain, paired with hot temperatures that boost evaporation from soils, creates drought conditions that intensify quickly.
As the climate warms, flash droughts are growing more common in many areas – even in places like the Midwest that are also seeing more heavy downpours.
Ford: “And then we’ve also had some recent flash droughts in the southeast U.S., parts of Tennessee, Carolinas. … That area, of course, is very heavily vegetated, and when it dries out, it creates a lot of fuel for wildfires.”
So although flash droughts may be shorter-lived than the prolonged droughts that plague the Western U.S. and other very dry regions, they can cause major damage.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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