Withering severe to extreme drought, covering most of the southern two-thirds of the United States, has led the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make its largest disaster declaration ever. Extensive crop damage, triggered by months of drought and the hottest June in American history, is decimating the largest corn crop ever planted in the U.S. Every state in the southern half of the country, except for Virginia and West Virginia is affected by the drought declaration. The combination of the end of a two year La Nina event and global warming set the stage for dome of hot air to build up over the midcontinent this June, smashing all-time temperature records from Colorado to the Carolinas. The hot dry air literally sucked the moisture out of crops.
Food and commodity prices are rising in response to the drought.
A drought disaster hasn't been declared in Iowa, the largest corn producer, but this week's drought monitor shows that Iowa, too, is affected by the drought. The heat and drought has expanded into the central and northern midwest.
In the 18 primary corn-growing states, 30 percent of the crop is now in poor or very poor condition, up from 22 percent the previous week. In addition, fully half of the nation’s pastures and ranges are in poor or very poor condition, up from 28 percent in mid-June. The hot, dry conditions have also allowed for a dramatic increase in wildfire activity since mid-June. During the past 3 weeks, the year-to-date acreage burned by wildfires increased from 1.1 million to 3.1 million as of this writing.This is what climate scientists told you was coming.