USDA Report Shows The West Has Become Much Dryer

For years, climate researchers have said compared to 50 years ago, temperatures across the west are higher, rain amounts lower, and a recent study indicates, "longer drought periods between rainfall events" according Joel Biederman with ARS. The author of the study stressed those droughts are running much longer. And said researchers complied daily data from hundreds of western weather stations going back five decades, and a lot has changed over that time.

"The average dry period in each year increasing from 20 to 32 days across the west. And then in the desert southwest that average dry period between storms in the 70s was about 30 days and that's now grown up to 45 days."

He said this means drier living plants, and much drier dead ones which can boost the frequency and severity of wildfires. Longer dry periods may also be affecting the health and distribution of western forage and crop plants. Researches have started a new study to  look at that.

Meanwhile, Biderman said with rising temperatures rising, rainless periods lengthening, storm events intensifying, the consequences can be really disastrous.

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