Perilous
Times and Climate Change
Weather experts: Massive Drought that has bolstered
wildfires expected to continue across southern US
By Angela K. Brown, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press –
Mon, 25 Apr, 2011 10:34 PM EDT
FORT WORTH, Texas - The extreme drought that has gripped parts of
nine states — most of them across the southern U.S. — is expected
to drag on for several months or intensify, posing a risk for more
wildfires, agriculture problems and water restrictions, national
weather experts said Monday.
Portions of Texas and a small part of western Louisiana are the
only parts of the nation that rank in the National Weather
Service's worst drought condition category, said Victor Murphy,
the climate service program manager for the National Weather
Service's southern region, based in Fort Worth. The "exceptional"
drought level happens once every 50 to 100 years, he said.
Much of the rest of Texas and Louisiana are in extreme drought
conditions — the worst in 20 to 50 years — as are parts of
Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Florida and tiny
portions of Colorado and Kansas. Other areas of those states are
experiencing severe and moderate drought conditions, along with
parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
May is "pretty much our last chance to mitigate this thing,"
because that month typically brings the most rainfall in many of
the bone-dry states, including Texas and Oklahoma, which need
about 4 inches (10 centimetres) of rain in the next month, Murphy
said.
The widespread drought was spawned last year by La Nina, a
condition that changes wind and air pressure patterns. It brought
warmer-than-normal temperatures and less rainfall to the southern
and central U.S., drying out grass and shrubs that have become
fuel for wildfires that have ignited and raged out of control in
several states.
Since Jan. 1, New Mexico wildfires have scorched more than 390
square miles (1,010 square kilometres) and destroyed 15 homes.
Among the fires was a massive 15,000-acre (6,070-hectare) blaze
that firefighters were still battling Monday south of Carlsbad,
said Dan Ware, a spokesman for the New Mexico State Forestry
Division.
So far this year Florida grass fires have blackened about 87
square miles (225 square kilometres), according to the Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Division of
Forestry.
Texas wildfires have burned more than 2,900 square miles (7,500
square kilometres) since the beginning of the year, destroying
about 400 homes and leading to the deaths of two firefighters,
according to the Texas Forest Service.
Overnight storms in North Texas only brought short-term relief to
a small parched area of the state but did help firefighters get a
127,000-acre (51,400-hectare) fire 70 per cent contained, Murphy
said. The only significant rainfall on the horizon is for
Arkansas, but too much rain there could bring flooding, he said.
Based on weather forecasts, the drought likely will persist and
even get worse in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma — as well as in
eastern Arizona, eastern Colorado and western Kansas, said David
Brown, regional climate services director for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. But a little improvement is
predicted for a small band stretching from the middle of Oklahoma
across northern Texas and Louisiana, Brown said. Drought
conditions are expected to improve in eastern Oklahoma, and much
of Arkansas and Florida, he said.
"The drought doesn't just lead to elevated risks for wildfires,
but it affects agriculture because of spring planting and also
puts a stress on water resources," Brown said.