Saturday August 7 1:26 AM ET
Drought Is Worst On Record For Four U.S. States
By Barbara Hagenbaugh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four eastern U.S. states are experiencing the worst drought on record and there is little hope of relief until winter, President Clinton and government officials said Friday. Weeks of withering heat without rain in the mid-Atlantic region have destroyed crops, stressed livestock, dried up wells, and forced some areas to restrict water use.
Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island are being parched by the worst drought on record, officials said. Meanwhile, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and West Virginia had the second-lowest rainfall from April to July since the government started collecting data 105 years ago.
``Throughout much of this country we have seen the worse drought since the Dust Bowl days,'' Clinton said, referring to the 1929 drought that worsened the Great Depression.
Forecasters said there was little sign that the drought will ease before winter, when cooler temperatures will allow moisture to soak into the soil. Currently, extreme heat is causing any rainfall to evaporate, officials said.
``This could be a drought that continues on for a long time,'' James Baker, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said at a briefing.
Eastern states reported precipitation levels between eight and 18 inches (20.3 and 45.7 cm) below average for the last year. It would take two torrential, tropical storms -- which is highly unlikely -- to make up for the losses, officials said.
Forecasters expect a meager half-inch to two inches of rain to fall in the next two months.
Many mid-Atlantic farmers, including seventh-generation beef producer Gene Mullinix, are selling off herds because they cannot raise the grain and hay needed to feed their cattle.
``If they (cattle) have any kind of a question mark, they are going to go to McDonald's,'' Mullinix of Lisbon, Md., said.
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman declared all of West Virginia and 33 counties surrounding the state as farm emergency areas this week, clearing the way for farmers to apply for low-interest government loans.
His department is considering requests from Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Arizona and New Mexico to have drought emergencies declared.
Farmers are seeing the lowest prices in a generation for many of their crops due to ample global stocks and decreased export demand. ``You've got a double whammy,'' Glickman said.
The Senate passed a $7.6 billion farm package Wednesday to help struggling farmers, but Clinton criticized it for not including specific funds to aid drought- stricken producers.
Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican, told reporters that Congress would consider the drought when lawmakers take up the measure next month. He declined to estimate any dollar amount for drought aid, saying lawmakers will look to the Clinton Administration for a recommendation.
So far, the drought has put little downward pressure on grain prices because most crops are grown in central states. But there are fears that drought conditions are creeping into the eastern part of the Corn Belt.
Retail food prices are not expected to show any impact from the drought.
Saturday August 7 1:54 AM ET
A Look at Drought Conditions
By The Associated Press
Some drought facts:
- The period of April through July was the driest in 105 years of recordkeeping for Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
- It was the second driest April-July on record for Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and West Virginia. Among nearby states, it was the third driest on record for Maine, fifth driest in New Hampshire and sixth in Virginia.
- April-July was the hottest on record for Rhode Island and among the 10 hottest such periods for New York, New Jersey and the rest of New England.
- One-year rainfall totals were 10 to 18 inches below normal over much of eastern and southern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, central and western Maryland and parts of Virginia.
- During July, rainfall totals were below one inch in parts of central Maryland, eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, and the New York City area, making it the driest July on record for locations including Allentown and New York City.
- 83 percent of New England streams had flows in the lowest 25 percent on record on Monday. Farther south, 84 percent of mid-Atlantic streams were similarly low. In the Ohio Valley, 39 percent of sites were in the lowest 25 percent on record.
- Low streamflow conditions are allowing salt water to begin encroaching up rivers, potentially affecting drinking water supplies in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Philadelphia and parts of Delaware.
- The dry conditions have resulted in high to very high fire danger in central and western Maryland, northern Virginia, the West Virginia Panhandle and adjacent southern Pennsylvania.
- Not everyone is dry; the April-July period was among the 10 wettest in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.
- Sources: National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Geological Survey.
Drought sparks fires on more than one million acres in western US
NEW YORK, Aug 7, 1999 (AFP) - Wildfires were burning on more than one million acres across four states Saturday as the country sweltered in hot and dry weather in the worst drought to hit some regions in 60 years. Blazes were raging across Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, reported.
Nevada suffered the most wildfires, with 23 fires burning 992,300 acres (396,000 hectares) in that state alone, the agency said. Firefighters beat back four large fires Friday, but four new ones started Saturday.
Forecasters expected the dry and windy weather to continue through Sunday for much of the state, although the northwest corner of Nevada and most of Oregon, Washington and Idaho were expected to receive some rain that would help control the blazes.
Meanwhile on the east coast, New York Governor George Pataki declared a drought emergency in eight counties of that state, restricting water use throughout the affected area.
"I have ordered all state assistance possible to help reduce the impact on the environment, public water supplies and agricultural communities," Pataki said in a statement.
Pataki called on residents throughout the rest of the state "to voluntarily conserve water to help us through this dry period."
The New York governor's actions came as much of the the eastern United States continued Saturday to suffer the driest summer in decades.
Intense heat baked the mid-Atlantic area in mid-July, and the eastern seaboard has experienced little rainfall over the past year, creating parched conditions.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday that Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island have been hit with the worst drought ever on record. Officials say no significant rainfall is likely in the area in the foreseeable future.
Several states in the mid-Atlantic United States have declared emergencies, including mandatory water restrictions, and the federal government has announced some aid measures.
President Bill Clinton announced emergency measures Friday, and directed the White House to convene a task force of the relevant cabinet agencies to coordinate a national response to the crisis.
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has declared the state of West Virginia and 33 neighboring counties disaster zones, allowing farmers there to receive low-interest loans and other assistance.
Nine other states have also requested federal disaster designation, Glickman said.
Earlier this week, the US Senate approved more than seven billion dollars in emergency relief farmers.
Ed Dames on the Art Bell Show - 6-22-99
Ed Dames: Well, two things about them. One is, even I, with my Nom de Guerre of Dr. Doom, the one I took to the White House with me, I don't like to talk about the kind of comments that we're going to see, geophysically induced. We're going to see a lot of people die. Especially from starvation and thirst. You know, drought.