Shrinking snowpacks, parched topsoil and depleted reservoirs are symptoms of the West’s longest continuous streak of dry years since 800 AD. There is also a significant likelihood the streak continues. A study published in Nature Climate Change in February predicted a 94 percent chance the drought stretches through 2023; the chances of it persisting through 2030 are 75 percent, when factoring in continued impacts of a warming climate.
According to the US Drought Monitor, most of the West is in “moderate” to “severe drought.” Certain regions, like eastern and southwestern Oregon, California’s Central Valley, southern Nevada and eastern New Mexico are in “extreme” to “exceptional” drought.
Source: Western US May Be Experiencing Its Worst Dry Spell in 12 Centuries – Mother Jones
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