2010–2013 Southern United States and Mexico drought

This narrated visualization shows how drought developed in the U.S. in 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Dried up Lake in Oklahoma as a result of the droughts

The 2010–2012 Southern United States drought is a severe to extreme ongoing drought plaguing the US South, including parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The worst effects have been in Texas, where near-record drought has parched the state since January 2011. Texas suffered an estimated $7.62 billion in crop and livestock losses, surpassing its record loss of $4.1 billion in 2006. In Texas, combined with the rest of the South, at least $10 billion in agricultural losses were recorded in 2011. In 2010-11, Texas experienced its driest August–July (12-month) period on record.

Effects

The drought dried up most of Central Texas water ways. This boat was left to sit in the middle of what is normally a branch of Lake Travis, part of the Colorado River.

The drought has caused severe lack of water in the southern plains and Rocky Mountains as well as numerous wildfires, in particular the 2011 Texas wildfires, the Wallow Fire and Horseshoe 2 Fire in Arizona, the Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire and Little Bear Fire in New Mexico, and the 2012 Colorado wildfires in Colorado.

By the end of August 2011, a ban on outdoor burning was in effect for 251 of the 254 Texas counties. Lake levels in Texas have declined vastly, some by as much as 50 feet; E.V. Spence Reservoir is now only 1% full. This has revealed various previously submerged items, ranging from a Native American's skull to a Space Shuttle Columbia tank. On August 30, several homes in Oklahoma City were destroyed along with 1,500 wooded acres. Hundreds of homes had to be evacuated.

The drought has had a detrimental effect on Texas and Oklahoma cattle ranches, who have deeply culled their herds and helped cut the national cattle population to the lowest level in decades.

2012 spring rainfall improved conditions in many parts of Texas and by April 12, 2012 only 14% of the state was in "exceptional" drought, compared to 88% at the drought's peak.

United States Drought Monitor on January 3 and July 3, 2012. Note the massive expansion from the South to most of the US.

In spring and summer of 2012, the drought expanded and formed the 2012 North American drought, affecting more than 80% of the contiguous United States.

In late summer of 2012, the drought eased in portions of the southern US, but continued to intensify in the central US.

See also

• 2012–2013 North American drought
• 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer
• Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas
• 2011 North American heat wave
• 2011 Texas wildfires
• March 2012 North American heat wave
• Summer 2012 North American heat wave
• 2012 North American drought
• 2012 Colorado wildfires
• 2012 Oklahoma wildfires
• Climate Change
• Global Warming
• Desertification

External links

• Drought Cripples the South: Why the 'Creeping Disaster' Could Get a Whole Lot Worse by Bryan Walsh, August 9, 2011 on Time
• Drought-fueled wildfires burn out of control in Texas by Andrew Freedman in the Washington Post September 6, 2011.
• Analysts: Southwestern US Drought Might Raise Global Food Prices by Greg Flakus September 8, 2011
• Crews battle wildfires amid severe Texas drought; 'It was unbelievable, just horrific. There were horses on fire, buildings on fire' April 12, 2011 Associated Press
• Record Texas Drought Burns Cotton Farmers as White Gold Withers by Elizabeth Campbell September 15, 2011 on Bloomberg.com
• Epic scorching drought testing Texas' ways; Massive droughts caused by wildfires in Texas have ravaged the environment, incited a tug of war for available water, and fundamentally changed the way of life for the state’s millions of residents. September 26, 2011 The Christian Science Monitor
• Michael Martinez and Mariano Castillo (CNN) (September 10, 2011). "More Wildfires Erupt In Texas As It Faces Worst Dry Spell Since 1895". {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |pub= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
• Texas Drought Forces a Town to Sip From a Truck February 3, 2012 New York Times
• Even After Rain, Texas Drought Persists February 6, 2012 Wall Street Journal
• Experts: Oklahoma, not Texas, had hottest summer ever, June 6, 2012
• Action Needed Now to Prepare for Severe Drought May 22, 2012
• Searing Sun and Drought Shrivel Corn in Midwest July 4, 2012
• Rising Temperatures and Drought Create Fears of a New Dust Bowl July 5, 2012
• Corn Prices Soar as Midwest Bakes; The Crop's Futures are Approaching Record Set in June 2011 July 9, 2012
• Drought puts more than half of U.S. counties in disaster zones, USDA says - CNN.com August 1, 2012
• Drought Stalks the Global Food Supply July 5, 2012 BusinessWeek
• Warming indicted for extreme weather; Climate change can explain some 2011 departures from the norm August 11, 2012; Vol.182 #3 (p. 14) Science News