EXTREME WEATHER ANOMALIES: The Global Food Crisis - Severe Drought Has U.S. West Fearing The Worst And New Reports States That U.S. Cattle Herd At Lowest Number Since 1951!

February 02, 2014 - UNITED STATES - The punishing drought that has swept California is now threatening the state’s drinking water supply.

A once-submerged car at a California reservoir. Jim Wilson/The New York Times

With no sign of rain, 17 rural communities providing water to 40,000 people are in danger of running out within 60 to 120 days. State officials said that the number was likely to rise in the months ahead after the State Water Project, the main municipal water distribution system, announced on Friday that it did not have enough water to supplement the dwindling supplies of local agencies that provide water to an additional 25 million people. It is first time the project has turned off its spigot in its 54-year history.

State officials said they were moving to put emergency plans in place. In the worst case, they said drinking water would have to be brought by truck into parched communities and additional wells would have to be drilled to draw on groundwater. The deteriorating situation would likely mean imposing mandatory water conservation measures on homeowners and businesses, who have already been asked to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20 percent.

“Every day this drought goes on we are going to have to tighten the screws on what people are doing” said Gov. Jerry Brown, who was governor during the last major drought here, in 1976-77.

During the past 7-days, an amplified ridge dominated weather conditions across the western third of the contiguous U.S. (CONUS), while a broad trough prevailed over the central and eastern thirds of the CONUS. Early in the period, two distinct low pressure centers and two cold fronts consolidated into one potent winter storm near the mid-Atlantic coast. This storm system brought significant snowfall to the northern mid-Atlantic region and the Northeast, with amounts generally ranging from 6-14 inches, though some areas had less accumulation, while others reported more. The remainder of the period was dominated by a series of fast-moving, clipper-type systems, which brought bitter cold arctic air to most of the central and eastern lower 48 states. Maximum temperatures during this period from the Upper Mississippi Valley eastward across the Great Lakes to interior portions of the northern and central Atlantic states climbed into the 30’s and 40’s, while minimum temperatures ranged from near zero to about 30 degrees below zero F. Precipitation was largely confined to the Great Lakes, the Northeast, and the Texas coast, though amounts were mostly in the 0.5-1.5 inch range (liquid equivalent). The West in general remained relatively mild and dry during the past 7-days.

This latest development has underscored the urgency of a drought that has already produced parched fields, starving livestock, and pockets of smog.

“We are on track for having the worst drought in 500 years,” said B. Lynn Ingram, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.

Already the drought, technically in its third year, is forcing big shifts in behavior. Farmers in Nevada said they had given up on even planting, while ranchers in Northern California and New Mexico said they were being forced to sell off cattle as fields that should be four feet high with grass are a blanket of brown and stunted stalks. 

Fishing and camping in much of California has been outlawed, to protect endangered salmon and guard against fires. Many people said they had already begun to cut back drastically on taking showers, washing their car and watering their lawns.

Rain and snow showers brought relief in parts of the state at the week’s end — people emerging from a movie theater in West Hollywood on Thursday evening broke into applause upon seeing rain splattering on the sidewalk — but they were nowhere near enough to make up for record-long dry stretches, officials said.

Anthony Moura, a rancher, ignited propane and pumped it into holes to kill the gophers that kill alfalfa on his ranch.
Mr. Moura usually floods his fields to irrigate and eliminate the pocket gophers.  Max Whittaker for The New York Times

The dry Pitt Dam in Lovelock, Nev. Max Whittaker for The New York Times

A once-submerged car was visible at the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir in California. State officials said
that in the worst case, they would truck drinking water into parched communities and drill additional
wells to draw on groundwater. Jim Wilson/The New York Times

“I have experienced a really long career in this area, and my worry meter has never been this high,” said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, a statewide coalition. “We are talking historical drought conditions, no supplies of water in many parts of the state. My industry’s job is to try to make sure that these kind of things never happen. And they are happening.”

Officials are girding for the kind of geographical, cultural and economic battles that have long plagued a part of the country that is defined by a lack of water: between farmers and environmentalists, urban and rural users, and the northern and southern regions of this state. 

“We do have a politics of finger-pointing and blame whenever there is a problem,” said Mr. Brown. “And we have a problem, so there is going to be a tendency to blame people.” President Obama called him last week to check on the drought situation and express his concern.

Tom Vilsack, secretary of the federal Agriculture Department, said in an interview that his agency’s ability to help farmers absorb the shock, with subsidies to buy food for cattle, had been undercut by the long deadlock in Congress over extending the farm bill, which finally seemed to be resolved last week.

Mr. Vilsack called the drought in California a “deep concern,” and a warning sign of trouble ahead for much of the West.


“That’s why it’s important for us to take climate change seriously,” he said. “If we don’t do the research, if we don’t have the financial assistance, if we don’t have the conservation resources, there’s very little we can do to help these farmers.”

The crisis is unfolding in ways expected and unexpected. Near Sacramento, the low level of streams has brought out prospectors, sifting for flecks of gold in slow-running waters. To the west, the heavy water demand of growers of medical marijuana — six gallons per plant per day during a 150-day period — is drawing down streams where salmon and other endangered fish species spawn.

“Every pickup truck has a water tank in the back,” said Scott Bauer, a coho salmon recovery coordinator with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “There is a potential to lose whole runs of fish.”

Without rain to scrub the air, pollution in the Los Angeles basin, which has declined over the past decade, has returned to dangerous levels, as evident from the brown-tinged air. Homeowners have been instructed to stop burning wood in their fireplaces. 

In the San Joaquin Valley, federal limits for particulate matter were breached for most of December and January. Schools used flags to signal when children should play indoors.

State park rangers burned weeds on the exposed lake bed of the Rye Patch Reservoir in Nevada, which was
at 3.5 percent capacity amid a drought that has caused the worst water shortage the region has faced
in more than a century.  Max Whittaker for The New York Times

Darrell Pursel, whose family has owned a Nevada ranch since 1863, said he could not remember a drought so bad.
Unless it rained a lot, he added, he would not do any planting. Max Whittaker for The New York Times

“One of the concerns is that as concentrations get higher, it affects not only the people who are most susceptible, but healthy people as well,” said Karen Magliano, assistant chief of the air quality planning division of the state’s Air Resources Board.

The impact has been particularly severe on farmers and ranchers. “I have friends with the ground torn out, all ready to go,” said Darrell Pursel, who farms just south of Yerington, Nev. “But what are you going to plant? At this moment, it looks like we’re not going to have any water. Unless we get a lot of rain, I know I won’t be planting anything.”

The University of California Cooperative Extension held a drought survival session last week in Browns Valley, about 60 miles north of Sacramento, drawing hundreds of ranchers in person and online. “We have people coming from six or seven hours away,” said Jeffrey James, who ran the session.

Dan Macon, 46, a rancher in Auburn, Calif., said the situation was “as bad as I have ever experienced. Most of our range lands are essentially out of feed.”

With each parched sunrise, a sense of alarm is rising amid signs that this is a drought that comes along only every few centuries. Sacramento had gone 52 days without water, and Albuquerque had gone 42 days without rain or snow as of Saturday. 

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, which supplies much of California with water during the dry season, was at just 12 percent of normal last week, reflecting the lack of rain or snow in December and January. 

“When we don’t have rainfall in our biggest two months, you really are starting off bad,” said Dar Mims, a meteorologist with the Air Resources Board.

Even as officials move into action, people who have lived through droughts before — albeit none as severe as this — said they were doing triage in their gardens (water the oak tree, not the lawn) and taking classic “stop-start-stop-start” shower.

Jacob Battersby, a producer in Oakland, said he began cutting back even before the voluntary restrictions were announced. 

“My wife and I both enjoy gardening,” he wrote in an email. “ ‘Sorry, plants. You will be getting none to drink this winter.’ ” - NY Times.

Reports States That U.S. Cattle Herd At Lowest Number Since 1951.

The lingering effects of drought across the Great Plains in recent years have led to another decrease in the U.S. cattle herd. 

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that the U.S. inventory of cattle and calves totaled 87.7 million animals as of Jan. 1. That was down by about 1.6 million cattle, or 2 percent, compared with this time last year. 

The agency says this is the lowest January inventory since 1951. 

Dr. Nancy Martin, a veterinarian, spoke to ranchers about keeping their herds healthy, during a Cooperative Extension drought survival session in Browns Valley, Calif., last week. Jason Henry for The New York Times

At the drought workshop, cattle ranchers examined an alternative type of feed.  Jason Henry for The New York Times

The carcass of a wild horse in the Nevada desert.  Max Whittaker for The New York Times

The drought, technically in its third year, is forcing shifts in behavior. Ranchers said they were being forced
to sell cattle as fields, normally with four feet of grass, were blankets of brown and stunted stalks. 
Max Whittaker for The New York Times

A bright spot was a 2 percent increase in young, female cattle retained for breeding. One expert says that factor could allow the herd's seven-year contraction to stabilize. 

Totals in Texas, the nation's leading cattle producer, decreased 4 percent. 

The January report had been anxiously awaited because the agency didn't issue a report in July due to sequestration. - AP.

EXTREME WEATHER: Complex Of Severe Earth Changes In The United States And Europe - Severe Storm, Flooding Risk From Omaha To St. Louis And Oppressive Heat Bakes Much Of Europe!

August 02, 2013 - UNITED STATES & EUROPE - Here are two reports from AccuWeather, illustrating the extreme weather taking place on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Severe Storm, Flooding Risk From Omaha To St. Louis.

A series of thunderstorms will continue to roll along over the central Plains, and some areas will be hit with severe weather into Saturday.

As one complex of storms that brought severe weather to Nebraska Thursday evening weakens over Missouri, a new batch of storms was already bringing severe weather to parts of South Dakota on Friday morning.

This new complex of storms will roll southeastward into Saturday across Nebraska, Missouri and parts of Kansas and Iowa. The storms could reach as far as Tennessee, northern Mississippi and Alabama later Saturday.

Cities and suburbs from Omaha, Neb., to Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo., are most likely have disruptive and damaging storms.

While frequent lightning strikes and hail will hit some communities hard, the greatest threat from the storms is damaging wind gusts and flash flooding.

Motorists should expect delays along I-29, I-70 and I-80 in the region, due to localized blinding downpours and excess water on the road surface.

For a few locations, this will be the second round in as many days of strong to severe thunderstorms, including parts of South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.

Much of the new rain falling on top of saturated ground will just run off into streams and rivers. People in unprotected, low-lying areas that are prone to flooding should keep a watchful eye.

Never drive across flooded roadways, as only about a foot of water can cause your vehicle to loose traction and could be swept downstream.

The rain is not unwanted in some areas. Portions of Iowa, for example, have had less than 25 percent of their normal rainfall during July.

Areas from western Nebraska southward to West Texas over the High Plains are in great need of rain. Much of this area is in extreme to exceptional drought. The storms into Saturday will avoid much of the drought areas over the High Plains.

Another complex of storms may fire farther south Saturday night and Sunday, beginning over parts of Kansas.

The storms are firing along shifting boundary between unusually cool air over the Midwest and 100-degree heat over much of Texas.

Interestingly, one of the disturbances producing the rounds of thunderstorms over the Plains has a chance at surviving a trip to the Gulf of Mexico early next week. Once in a while, such disturbances can develop into a tropical system.

Oppressive Heat Bakes Much Of Europe.

August got off to a scorching start across much of central and western Europe. A blast of hot air spread across the region allowing temperatures to soar into the mid- and upper 30s Celsius.

The hot spell preceded a storm system moving into the northern United Kingdom. Ahead of this storm, a flow of hot air from the south made for a very uncomfortable Thursday and Friday in many places.

A smattering of oppressively hot temperature observations include 35C (95F) in Rome, 34 in London, 33 in Frankfurt and 38 (101F) in Madrid.

While cooler weather pressed into England Friday, the heat was still on in central Europe. Florence, Italy climbed to 37C (99F) late in the afternoon while Frankfurt topped out near 35C.

This excessive heat continued the trend of a warm last month in much of Europe. Since July 1, locations such as London, Paris and Madrid have all averaged at least 2.8 degrees Celsius (5F) above normal.

Thankfully, a break from the heat is on the way for western Europe this weekend and into next week. Cooler air will filter into the region from the northern Atlantic and bring temperatures much closer to average.

While the western part of the continent cools, the core of the heat will shift eastward to include Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. Southern Spain as well as Italy will also remain quite warm.

MONUMENTAL EARTH CHANGES: THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS - "CATASTROPHIC" AND "COSTLY" DROUGHT RAISES MAJOR CONCERNS FOR OUR AGRICULTURAL FUTURE!

The nation’s most expensive weather event in 2012 was not Superstorm Sandy, but the continuing drought, according to a report by the World Wildlife Fund.  The WWF says that more than 62 percent of the United States is still experiencing drought conditions, which will remain in effect into early 2013 at least.  Major findings in the WWF’s year-to-date review, issued Dec. 6, are: 

U.S. Drought - The Costliest Weather Disaster Of 2012.
Most extreme weather: Through November, weather in the contiguous U.S. has been the most extreme on record.  Costly year: 2012 has the potential to be the most costly year on record.  WWF estimates that costs from 2012’s 11 largest weather-related disasters in the U.S. will cost between $160 billion and $235 billion.  According to data assembled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the period 1980 through 2011, 2005 was the costliest year, with $187.2 billion (2012 dollars) in damages (Hurricane Katrina alone accounted for $146.3 billion of that).  Drought disaster: The costliest weather disaster of 2012 has been the worsening drought, which could reduce Gross Domestic Product this year by as much as 1 percent, or by roughly $150 billion.  Impacts from the drought will spill over into the new year, which will start with far more serious drought conditions than at the beginning of 2012.  As of Dec. 4, more than 62 percent of the Unites States was in drought, twice the area in drought a year ago.  The “Seasonal Drought Outlook” issued by NOAA Dec. 6 indicates that while conditions will improve in some parts of the U.S., the drought will persist or intensify over most drought-affected areas.  Hottest year on record: 2012 is on track to be the hottest year on record in the contiguous U.S. According to NOAA “It appears virtually certain that 2012 will surpass the current record (1998, 54.3°F) as the warmest year for the nation.” - Daily Gazette.

U.S. Drought Revives Old Water War Among River States.
The water wars are raging again in America’s heartland, where drought-stricken states are pleading for the increasingly scarce water of the Missouri River – to drink from their faucets, irrigate their crops and float the barges that carry billions of dollars of agricultural products to market. From Montana to West Virginia, officials on both sides have written President Barack Obama urging him to intervene – or not – in a long-running dispute over whether water from the Missouri’s upstream reservoirs should be released into the Mississippi River to ease low water levels that have imperiled commercial traffic.  The quarrel pits boaters, fishermen and tourism interests against communities downstream and companies that rely on the Mississippi to do business.  “We are back to the age-old old battle of recreation and irrigation verses navigation,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri.  If the water is held back, downstream states warn that shipping on the Mississippi could come to a near standstill sometime after Christmas along a 180-mile stretch between St. Louis and the southern Illinois town of Cairo. But if the water is released, upstream communities worry that the toll of the drought could be even worse next year for farms and towns that depend on the Missouri. - Daily Chronicle.

Is The Drought Coming Back In Houston?
Much of the area received some much needed rain this week, but even with the rain there are concerns about a returning drought across the state.  "October and November of this year were the five driest October and Novembers on record. So this is not a good start for the winter. We have seen drought conditions getting worse across much of the state," said Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas State Climatologist.  The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook currently shows a persistent drought through the middle of the country including a developing drought in southeast Texas. "We have very hot waters off the Atlantic and that is helping to create heat waves and hurricanes," said Evelyn Browning - Garriss, editor of The Browning Newsletter. "The interior of the United States, including, unfortunately, Texas, tends to be slightly drier than normal and hotter than normal, so even what rain they get evaporates quickly."  Browning-Garriss is a historical climatologist who advises everyone from Texas cattle raisers to Midwestern utilities to Canadian banks about what the coming season will bring.  "This drought, I would expect to ease up over the next two years, but Texans need to start thinking like they did in the 1950s, when water was a very special resource and they had to be intelligent about the way they used it," said Browning-Garriss. "Normally this is the time of year we see the ground get wet and stay wet through the rest of the winter. We see reservoirs recharging. None of that has happened yet and it is like the recharge season is two months late already and counting," said Nielsen-Gammon. "In most of Texas, this drought is now in its third year and if we don't get significantly above normal rain fall, then we will be talking about a drought comparable to the 1950s." - Click2Houston.

WATCH: Devastating drought conditions in Texas.

Catastrophic Drought In The Horn Of Africa Delays Migrating Birds.
The catastrophic drought last year in the Horn of Africa affected millions of people but also caused the extremely late arrival into northern Europe of several migratory songbird species, a study published December 6 in Science shows. Details of the migration route was revealed by data collected from small backpacks fitted on birds showing that the delay resulted from an extended stay in the Horn of Africa. The extensive 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa had significant consequences for European songbirds such as thrush nightingale and red-backed shrike. These birds visit northern Europe every spring to mate and take advantage of ample summer food resources.  However, their spring migrating route from southern Africa to northern latitudes passes directly through the Horn of Africa, where the birds stop to feed and refuel for the next stage of their migration.  "Our research was able to couple the birds' delayed arrival in Europe with that stopover in the Horn of Africa. Here they stayed about a week longer in 2011 than in the years before and after 2011. Because of the drought, the birds would have needed longer to feed and gain energy for their onward travel, causing delayed arrival and breeding in Europe. This supports our theory that migrating animals in general are dependent on a series of areas to reach their destination,"says Associate Professor Anders Tøttrup from the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen. -Science Daily.

Ongoing Drought Raises Big Concern For Agricultural Future.
Agriculture is critical to Nebraska’s future, but Gov. Dave Heineman said the ongoing drought presents a challenge to the future of the state’s largest industry, which represents about 45 percent of the state’s gross domestic product.  From massive flooding along the Missouri River in 2011 to a massive drought that has engulfed all of Nebraska this year, Heineman told members of the Nebraska Farmers Union Friday that the weather has made a 180-degree turn from one extreme to another.  And the main concern is now “what is going to happen next year and the year after that,” he said... “What I really worry about is what is going to happen next year,” he said. “I think there is going to be a great deal of tension if we don’t get enough moisture, between agriculture users of water resources, businesses and cities.”... “But what we are concerned about, if we go through a second or third year of the drought, is its impact on agriculture,” he said. “Looking down the road, an extended drought will definitely have an impact on our state and it will be a difficult situation.” - The Independent.

Experts: Winter Wheat Farmers May Abandon More Than 25% of New Wheat Crop.
US winter wheat farmers could abandon more than a quarter of the new wheat crop due to devastating weather, though decisions on abandonment will not be made until spring, experts said this week. Historic drought, coupled with record warm weather and high winds sweeping across the Plains, have left the new crop in the worst condition in decades. With no significant improvement soon, many farmers could give up on their wheat acres.  Abandonment levels could exceed 25 percent, said Mark Hodges, a wheat industry consultant and executive director of Plains Grains Inc, which represents producers from around the Plains. "The potential is there," he said. "We are nowhere near a normal crop. But Mother Nature is very fickle," Hodges said. "Should we get some moisture, and I'm not saying the likelihood is high ... we could still produce some wheat. But the likelihood of significant moisture is not great before spring." - Business Recorder.

U.S. Drought Expands, Concerns Mount About Wheat and Rivers.
Drought continued to expand through the central United States even as winter weather sets in, wreaking havoc on the nation's new wheat crop and on movement of key commodities as major shipping waterways grow shallow. Unseasonably warm conditions have exacerbated the harm caused by the lack of needed rainfall. The average temperature for the contiguous United States last month was 44.1 degrees Fahrenheit, 2.1 degrees above the 20th century average, and tying 2004 as the 20th warmest November on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The year-to-date marks the warmest first 11 months of any year on record for the contiguous United States, and for the entire year, 2012 will most likely surpass the current record as the warmest year for the nation, NOAA said.     The warm weather accelerates evaporation of any precipitation that does fall, and keeps plants - like the new wheat crop - trying to grow, rather than slipping into normal winter dormancy. "We have not seen hardly any rain or snow around the Plains states. It is still very dry. And with these temperatures when you are having 60- or 70 degrees and high winds... it's going to be problematic," said Brian Fuchs, climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Areas of drought expansion last week were noted across parts of Texas, central Louisiana, east-central Missouri, eastern Kansas, and the Panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, according to the Drought Monitor's weekly compilation of data gathered by federal and academic scientists and issued each Thursday.  The U.S. High Plains, which includes key farm states of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Kansas, are the hardest hit. In that region, 58.39 percent of the land area is in extreme or exceptional drought, the two worst categories of drought. A week ago, the tally was 57.89 percent. Nebraska remained by far the most parched state in the nation with fully 100 percent of the farm state in severe or worse drought, and 77.46 percent of the state considered in "exceptional" drought - the worst level, according to the Drought Monitor. Overall, roughly 62.37 percent of the contiguous United States was in at least "moderate" drought as of Dec. 4, a slight improvement from 62.55 percent a week earlier,  The portion of the contiguous United States under "extreme" or "exceptional" drought expanded, however, to 20.63 percent from 20.12 percent. - Reuters.

EARTH CHANGES & THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS: WEATHER AROUND THE WORLD DRAMATICALLY AFFECTING CROP PRICES!

No matter what time of year it is, weather is always a key factor for crop markets. In general, crop prices declined late in 2011, but they rebounded in early 2012. The key factor in the recent price moves has been weather developments in key corn and soybean production regions of Argentina and Brazil. Droughts in those key producing countries have led to declines in production forecasts, and these lower production forecasts have boosted prospects for U.S. corn and soybean exports.

The drought has been severe in Argentina. Some key growing areas received almost no rain in December suffering through the worst drought in at least 50 years. It was still drier than normal in January but most areas received between 50 percent and 75 percent of normal precipitation. Weather conditions have improved recently with good rains in northern Buenos Aires and southern Santa Fe. It is too early to know for sure how much the rains will help but drought conditions have eased at least for now. February is midseason for both corn and first crop soybeans in the region so rainfall now can have a significant impact on production, especially for soybeans. Early in the season, Argentina’s corn production was expected to be near 27.5 million tonnes. As the drought has persisted the size of the crop has been revised down. USDA’ estimate in January was 26 million tonnes and in February the figure was 22 million tonnes. Crop production estimates from private forecasters in Argentina are as low as 20 million tonnes or less. With a smaller crop in Argentina, USDA raised the 2011/12 forecast for U.S. corn exports to 1.70 billion bushels, up from 1.65 billion in January.

Soybean and corn production prospects in Brazil have also been affected by the dry weather so far this growing season. Soybean production in Rio Grande do Sul is put at around 8 million tonnes for this year, down from more than 11 million tonnes last season. Yield potential has also been reduced in other parts of the country. USDA forecasts Brazil’s soybean production of 72 million tonnes, but some other forecasters put production down at 70 million tonnes. Brazil’s corn crop is put at 61 million tonnes, unchanged from the January forecast. The drought in South America is attributed to the influence of the La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific. Temperatures have been well below normal since last summer and forecast models show the condition remaining in place, albeit weakening, until spring. Models indicate that ocean temperatures could move above normal by late spring. The La Niña weather pattern affected the drought in the southern U.S. last year and weather forecast maps show the dry weather across the south continuing at least through May.

Temperatures in the last couple of weeks in Europe have been so cold that it is logical to assume that there has been some winterkill. Rapeseed is of course the major oilseed crop there and the agronomists believe that there has been some damage. That speculation has supported soyoil prices this week. The head of the agriculture department of Ukraine’s meteorological service says that the country’s winter grain crops have been hit by record low temperatures and that production could fall by between 42 and 58 percent. The crops got off to a poor start due to drought in July through November and were in poor shape before the severe freeze hit. There was only modest snow to protect the crops from the very cold weather. Production at this point is forecast at between 10 million and 14 million tonnes. The Ukrainian wheat was in bad shape going into winter and It has probably suffered more losses. In addition to the dry weather in the southern U.S. there has been little or no precipitation in the northern Plains and the western Corn Belt states. Forecast maps show above normal precipitation in the region over the March through May period. With the spring planting season only a couple of months away, the region will need above normal precipitation to recharge soil moisture supplies. - Pork Network.

Disasters caused by the sin of man

Deuteronomy 28

15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.

21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.

22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.

23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.

24 The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

According to God’s Law, the land will be judged if it is full of sins. Nature won't work for humans anymore. Rather, natural disasters become people's judgment.

Genesis 3:17-18

17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

Leviticus 18:24-28

24 " 'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.

25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.

26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things,

27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled.

28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

Isaiah 24:1-6

1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants-

2 it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.

3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.

4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish.

5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.

Jeremiah 3:2-3

2 "Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.

3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.

Ezekiel 33:25-28

25 Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land?

26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?'

27 "Say this to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague.

28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them.

Micah 1:1-5

1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah--the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it, that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

3 Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth.

4 The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.

5 All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem?

Zephaniah 1:2-4

2 "I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD.

3 "I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth," declares the LORD.

4 "I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests-

Hosea 4:1-3

1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.

2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3 Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.

Although the “judgment towards the land because of sins” principle isn’t accepted by scientists generally, they even label it as superstitious, unreasonable and unscientific, obviously, the droughts, crop failures, epidemics and the well-known massive animal deaths are warnings , warning people that natural disasters occur because of people’s sins.

Although scientists and unfaithful Christians don’t believe that, they can't save the land from ever-increasing disasters though!

~ A 9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11 last year

~ The worst drought in 60 years in the middle and lower courses of the Yangtzi River last year

~ Mount Etna in Italy erupted violently on May 12 last year

~ Sakurajima volcano in Japan erupted on May 12 this year, discharging to the sky endlessly.

~ A devastating drought occurred in Mexico late last year. 2.5 million people lacked both food and water. 1.7 million cattle died of thirst.

~ Tornado disaster in the U.S. in April this year

~ 900 pelicans and 5,000 dolphins washed to the shore of Peru in May this year.

The Bible has already warned that the land will be judged because of people’s sins. We, as the chosen people, must be alert. We must stay away from sins, lower ourselves and pray, seeking God’s Face.

2 Chronicles 7:12-14

12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.

13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.