Posted on 02/18/2022 2:52:10 PM PST by blam
Images of dry lake beds, scorched forests and charred buildings, and drought-stricken farmland from the American West have been published in newspapers worldwide as a megadrought intensifies. Many have wondered just how severe the current drought is, and perhaps, that question can be answered in a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
A new peer-reviewed study titled “Rapid intensification of the emerging southwestern North American megadrought in 2020–2021” says the last 22-year dry period is the worst since the Vikings and Mayans ruled parts of the world, or about 1,200 years ago.
“Anyone who has been paying attention knows that the west has been dry for most of the last couple decades,” Park Williams, a climate scientist at the University of California and the study’s lead author, told the Guardian.
Park used tree-ring records to reconstruct summer soil moisture content across centuries and allowed the researcher to believe the current low soil moisture is on par with moisture dating back to the year 800. He also said the conditions would likely persist through 2022.
“Rather than starting to die away after wet years in 2017 and 2019, the 2000s drought has ramped up with authority in 2020-2021, making clear that it’s now as strong as it ever was,” Park said, adding “there is evidence that the 2000s drought is starting to relent.”
We have published countless weather notes and the state of the drought in the western half of the US for years. One of the most damning pictures we’ve reported is Great Salt Lake’s progression of dwindling water levels over the last 35 years.
The situation has been worsening over the last few years as several major reservoirs are quickly drying up, forcing people to evacuate their boats and causing hydroelectric plants to shutter due to not having enough water to spin turbines.
Here are some of those images of dried-up lake beds.
According to data from the US Drought Monitor, the current state of the western half of the US is under a severe drought.
An unrelenting megadrought that is drying up lakes should be a major concern to lakefront homeowners who still have water left — maybe now is the time to sell before your oasis transforms into a desert.
We had a deluge last summer. Most monsoons and rainfall I’ve seen in AZ since about 2005.
Thought it was Indiana. I could use some Ridges sour cream flavored ones. We still have some snow in the shade that fell over Christmas. And, we’re out west.
I’ve lived in Northern California since the Summer of 1973, just shy of 50 years. Those maps look like the normal year-to-year variability we’ve had the past 50 years. We’ve had a lot of years where we get hit with gushers in November, December, and/or January, then the spigot shuts off. We’ve had years where it continued to rain for a few months. We’ve had a lot of years where we get hit with 2, 3 or 4 monster storms in the winter, then nothing. The only thing predictable about western rain and snowfall is how unpredictable and inconstant it is.
In the last 1200 years. What about before then? Something I recall seeing somewhere there was an ocean in the west long ago too. Climate changes, always.
It’s not global warming. It’s a persistent eastern pacific high pressure system that’s blocking rain bearing storms. Maybe the authorities should pray for rain or do a rain dance.
This is a *man-made” drought. California bureaucrats, politicians and tree-huggers are responsible for this by deliberately destroying hundreds of reservoirs built between the 1890s and 1960s. They did this in the name of conservation. California is no stranger to dry spells which is why the state but so many reservoirs to begin with. As it stands now, most of the rainfall and snow melt simply runs off and into the ocean.
Idiots.
Hey, have them measure the water usage of 20 million illegals and a million HB1 workers....
That burst of reality might dampen their masks.
GOD bless America and Texas!
And we survived before and will again. Geez...Another mountain out of a mole hill.
Yes, there’s a huge facility being built off Loop 303.
These experts are brilliant—they correlated their data from seances with folks that died 1200 years ago....
Science, yo!
marked ,thanks
1200 years of rainfall data! Just goes to show you rain gauges last over 1200 years. Dont throw your rain gauges in the trash Recycle them, if your local landfill or community doesn’t have a special “ rain gauge “ recycle bin, write your local sanitation dept and demand one!! /S for those with no sense of humor.
and the reason 1200 years ago was... wut?
https://www.kuer.org/health-science-environment/2021-07-07/declining-water-levels-in-the-great-salt-lake-spell-economic-trouble-for-utah
Didn’t we just have a pandemic where authorities initially repeatedly suggested that everybody wash their hands often?
California has been in a ‘wet period’ for the last 1200 years. Prior droughts would last for up to 240 years
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.eastbaytimes.com/2014/01/25/california-drought-past-dry-periods-have-lasted-more-than-200-years-scientists-say/amp/
If only libtards had been around 1200 years ago they could have prevented that disaster too 🤪
I wonder where they found the Viking and Mayan weather/climate records to compare their maps against?
Maybe Utah can cut off the NSA’s facility that uses up to 1.8 million gallons of water a day. Just to keep their spy servers cool!
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