Brutally hot and dry weather has kept 95 percent of the state in drought conditions, according to the U-S Drought Monitor. State climatologist Barry Keim says the areas in “extreme and exceptional” drought conditions have gotten worse.
“Especially in more of the south-central part of the state. But temperatures are still running above normal and we’re still deficient in rainfall. Until something happens, I see this continue to deteriorate as we move forward.”
The southwest corner of Louisiana is classified as exceptionally dry along with Northshore and the Baton Rouge area. In exceptional drought, fishing is compromised, pasture and crop loss is widespread, and water shortages are implemented. Keim says almost 70 percent of the state is D3 or D4 status.
“Which basically means they haven’t had any serious rain in a long time. So we definitely have some very serious issues across Louisiana.
The extreme northern part of the state is not experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions. Keim says the conditions in the extreme southeastern part of the state have improved.
“The Pearl River, down through the Metropolitan New Orleans area, St. Bernard, Plaquemines Parish, most of St. Tammany, and maybe a little bit of Washington Parish that area received four to six inches of rain last week.”
The U-S Drought Monitor, released every Thursday, shows how bad drought conditions are across the country.
Comments