Jack Diebolt sent along some maps from the drought monitor page, which inspired me to chase down the map for about a year ago (above). Below is the current status map that shows much change during the past year. Most remarkable is that the extreme to exceptional drought conditions over the Southern Plains and Texas have vanished and been replaced by a great, inland sea. Drought in the West has worsened and nasty water wars are occurring in California and Nevada. Dry conditions have also set in over much of the East, Northeast, and Great lakes. Finally, the map at the bottom shows the change in drought status during only the past two months, as the heavy rain regime setup in the Plains. The rainy period probably reflects a shift northward of the impacts of the current El Nino, which had mostly been confined to Mexico during the winter.
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