Rukavina's Extreme Weather and Climate Blog

It seems as though we are literally just scratching the surface when making strides recovering from Drought 2012. The latest drought monitor shows us in the clear from a classified drought but long term problem runs deeper. As of February 13, 2013, 2,333 primary counties within the United States were designated for 2012 Crop Disaster Losses through the USDA with another 423 contiguous counties following last year's historic drought. New research was released this week from the University of Missouri School of Natural Resources It showed the soils of the Midwest that suffered exceptional drought may take up to two years to fully recover.   At the Paducah National Weather Service, January precipitation was well above normal and ended up being the wettest on record. Much of the Midwest has also seen an uptick in frequency of precipitation but Randall Miles (MU Soil Science Associate Professor) says, "What we may be sinking into the soil now may not get down to the, l...