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While many people might think of the onset of drought occurs following many months of dry weather, the right weather pattern can lead to a fast onset to this destructive form of Mother Nature.
The term flash flooding is common verbiage in heavy rainfall alerts, particularly during the summer, when too much rain falling in a short time triggers standing water in streets and forces smaller streams to crest over their banks. Believe it or not, just the opposite can occur and lead to a deficit of soil moisture that triggers a flash drought.
A sudden change in the weather pattern that causes little to no rain, abnormally warm temperatures, gusty winds and a cloudless sky for at least a week are signs of a potential developing flash drought. This pattern can lead to a rapid decline in soil moisture and excessive evaporation, which triggers a flash drought.
By this definition, heat waves are a precursor to flash droughts. A heat wave is defined as at least three days with high temperatures at or above 90 degrees. Heat waves spanning a week to 10 days without any rain is enough to cause drought development. Historically, flash droughts are most common in the central U.S. during a La Nina summer, one in which the equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures are cooler than average. La Nina causes a ripple-effect in the weather pattern across the globe.
A classic example of a potential flash drought in the making is the recent dry, hot stretch of weather in the Upper Midwest. Chicago had a wet spring with 10.87 inches of rainfall from March to May. Spring rainfall was 1.33 inches above average. However, June, which historically is the second wettest month of the year with 4.01 inches of rain has been dry. In the first 20 days of the month, only 1.22 inches of rain has fallen.
Not to be outdone, the mercury hit the ground running on June 13 with four consecutive days at or above 90 degrees and two days with high temperatures of 100 degrees. The middle of the month was also accompanied by very little rainfall. While the drought monitor didn’t note any drought development as of June 16, the dry, hot weather resulted in the onset of an abnormally dry spell to moderate drought by the end of the month.
A recent report that studied flash drought occurrence in the U.S. between 1979 and 2016 concluded that its frequency peaks in the West between May and June. The East is notorious for flash droughts in July and August while the Southeast can see the onset of a flash drought in May.
Gardeners and agricultural interests are encouraged to monitor the extended forecasts carefully during the summer to gauge water usage requirements. Download the WeatherBug phone application to not only track the forecast for the next 10-days but keep up to date with the latest severe weather watches and warnings. Find the latest U.S. drought report on the WeatherBug news section of the phone application.
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Story Image: A snapshot of the drought status across the U.S. is seen on May 31, 2022. (Courtesy of the National Drought Mitigation Center and NOAA)