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Drought of 2012 worst since 1956: NOAA

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A drought affected corn crop is seen near Paris, Missouri July 13, 2012. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

A drought affected corn crop is seen near Paris, Missouri July 13, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Adrees Latif

Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:49pm EDT

(Reuters) - The drought scorching the Midwest is spanning 55 percent of the contiguous United States and is the worst since 1956, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a report posted on its website on Monday.

The agency said based on the Palmer Drought Index, the 55 percent coverage was the largest since December 1956 when 58 percent of the contiguous United States was in moderate to extreme drought.

(Reporting by K.T. Arasu; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
U.S.
Environment
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Comments (1)
owl905 wrote:
Ugly to read, but even uglier to see the extent on the map:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/2012/6

Moderate or worse – 55% of the Lower 48
Severe or worse – 33% of the Lower 48

And it’s not about to let up soon enough:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/16/midwest-drought-2012-us-worse_n_1676967.html

Jul 16, 2012 8:18pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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