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How was your experience using Drought. During October , Drought. The U. This map shows drought conditions across Mississippi using a five-category system, from Abnormally Dry D0 conditions to Exceptional Drought D4. Learn more. The following state-specific drought impacts were compiled by the National Drought Mitigation Center. While these impacts are not exhaustive, they can help provide a clearer picture of drought in Mississippi. View up-to-date drought conditions down to the city and county level, including temperature, and precipitation conditions, key drought indicators, outlooks, historical conditions, and water supply, agriculture, and public health maps.
Drought Monitor started in Since , the longest duration of drought D1—D4 in Mississippi lasted weeks beginning on April 20, , and ending on May 1, The most intense period of drought occurred the week of October 31, , where D4 affected The USDM relies on drought experts to synthesize the best available data and work with local observers to interpret the information.
The USDM also incorporates ground truthing and information about how drought is affecting people, via a network of more than observers across the country, including state climatologists, National Weather Service staff, Extension agents, and hydrologists. The Standardized Precipitation Index SPI is an index to characterize meteorological drought on a range of timescales, ranging from 1 to 72 months. The SPI is the number of standard deviations that observed cumulative precipitation deviates from the climatological average.
Tree-rings are used to extend the instrumental record of drought to over years. This dataset blends tree-ring reconstructions and instrumental data to estimate the average summer PMDI values, which extend over years in some parts of the U. Office of the Mississippi State Climatologist. Tell us how drought is impacting your community by submitting a condition monitoring report.
Your submissions help us better understand how drought is affecting local conditions. Site Section. Drought in your area? Report Impacts. On This Page. Take the Survey Do not show me this again No Thanks. Current U. Drought Monitor Conditions for Mississippi. Current Last Week Last Month.
D0 – Abnormally Dry. Louis and New Orleans may see record low water levels in the coming days, including Caruthersville, Missouri, and Osceola, Arkansas. The National Weather Service predicts the reading at Memphis, Tennessee, will reach its second-lowest level ever by Oct. The timing is bad. Corn and soybeans harvested in the early fall need to be moved, and barges are vital in getting the commodities from one place to another. Officials with the U. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that normally, tows are able to move 36 barges at a time.
With the water level so low, shippers have voluntarily agreed to cut that to 25 barges. The U. Louis said nearly all of the Mississippi River basin, from Minnesota through Louisiana, has seen below-normal rainfall over the past 30 days.
The basin from St. Louis south has been largely dry for three months, and the forecast calls for the drought to continue, along with warmer-than-normal temperatures. Though the Mississippi River is low, there is no evidence that barges or other vessels have grounded, said Lance Engle, dredging project manager for the Corps in St. He said dredging of the river bottom continues in several spots to help keep traffic flowing. The river has not been forced to close at any locations, but Joan Stemler, the chief of water control operations in St.
Louis for the Corps of Engineers, warned that the flow from the Missouri River, which feeds into the Mississippi north of St. Louis, is expected to drop enough in December that the Mississippi could go up to 3 feet 0. The upper Mississippi River, from Minnesota to St. Louis, operates with a series of locks and dams. The river from St. Louis to the south is free-flowing.
Stemler said that in a low-water emergency, the Corps can release water from the southern-most dam, near Alton, Illinois, which would increase the depth downriver by a half-foot 15 centimeters.
Mississippi drying up
The worst drought in more than 50 years is having a devastating impact on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi has become very thin and very narrow, and if it keeps on dropping there is a very real possibility that all river traffic could get shut down. And considering the fact that approximately 60 percent of our grain, 22 percent of our oil and natural gas, and and one-fifth of our coal travel down the Mississippi River, that would be absolutely crippling for our economy.
It has been estimated that if all Mississippi River traffic was stopped that it would cost the U. So far most of the media coverage of this historic drought has focused on the impact that it is having on farmers and ranchers , but the health of the Mississippi River is also absolutely crucial to the economic success of this nation, and right now the Mississippi is in incredibly bad shape.
In some areas the river is already 20 feet below normal and the water is expected to continue to drop. If we have another 12 months of weather ahead of us similar to what we have seen over the last 12 months then the mighty Mississippi is going to be a complete and total disaster zone by this time next year. Most Americans simply do not understand how vitally important the Mississippi River is to all of us.
If the Mississippi River continues drying up to the point where commercial travel is no longer possible, it would be an absolutely devastating blow to the U. Unfortunately, vast stretches of the Mississippi are already dangerously low. The following is an excerpt from a transcript of a CNN report that aired on August 14th …. You might think this is some kind of desert just outside of Memphis.
Hard to believe, a year ago we were talking about record flooding. Now, they are worried about a new kind of record: a record low. There are some benefits, I mean, take a look over here: new beach front. A lot of stuff we use goes up and down the Mississippi River. We are talking steel, coal, ore, grain. The problem is now a lot of those barges have had to lighten their loads, and even doing that, they are still running aground.
There is a real fear that there could be a possibility of closing the Mississippi River. If that happens, well, all that product that used to be carried cheaply by barge is now going to be carried more expensively by truck or train. And guess who is going to pay for all of that.
You can see video footage of what is happening along the Mississippi right here. It really is amazing that last year we were talking about historic flooding along the Mississippi and this year we are talking about the Mississippi possibly drying up. As I mentioned earlier, there are some areas along the river that are already 20 feet below normal levels.
The following is from a recent article posted on inquisitr. Just outside of Memphis the river is 13 feet below normal depth while the National Weather Service says Vicksburg, Mississippi is 20 feet below normal levels.
Overall the Mississippi is 13 feet below normal averages for this time of year. The drying up river is forcing barge, tugboat and towboat operators to navigate narrower and more shallow spots in the river, slowing their speeds as they pass dangerously close to one another. In some parts of the Mississippi the river is so narrow that one-way traffic is being utilized. A lot of barges have been forced to go with greatly reduced loads so that they will sit higher in the river, and other commercial craft have been forced to stop operating completely.
For example, the Mississippi has dropped so low at this point that the famous American Queen Steamboat can no longer safely navigate the river. Down south, the Mississippi River has gotten so low that saltwater is actually starting to move upriver. The U. Army Corps of Engineers is fighting hard to keep that contained. For example, a mile stretch of the Platte River has already dried up.
Millions of fish are dying as rivers and streams all over the country continue to get shallower and warmer as a result of the ongoing drought. The last time the condition of the Mississippi River was this bad was back in At that time, a lot of barge traffic was stopped completely and the shipping industry lost approximately a billion dollars.
As I wrote about recently , a standstill along the Mississippi would cost the U. In fact, this crisis could end up costing American consumers a whole lot of money …. The more that now has to be moved on land, well, the more the costs go up. And considering the fact that we are already facing a potential food crisis due to the drought, the last thing we need is for the Mississippi River to dry up.
The fall and the winter are typically drier than the summer is along the Mississippi River. That means that conditions along the river could actually get even worse in the months ahead. The following is from a recent Time Magazine article …. As summer turns to fall, the weather tends to get drier.
Lower temperatures generally mean fewer thunderstorms and less rainfall. And while droughts tend to be a temporary setback, longer-range forecasts are troublesome. So what do you think about this? Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below….
Other waterways in the middle part of the country are in even worse shape. If a similar thing were to happen now, the consequences could potentially be far worse. In the end, who is going to pay for all of this? You and I will. So is there any hope on the horizon for the Mississippi?
Unfortunately, things do not look promising.
