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Worst of Drought Expands as U.S. Marks New High for Dry
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-13/worst-of-drought-expands-as-u-s-marks-new-high-for-dry.htmlThe worst drought conditions in the lower 48 states expanded for the third week in a row as the level of moderate-to-worse drought hit a high for the year, the U.S. Drought Monitor said.
Exceptional drought, the most severe category on a four- step scale, now covers 6.23 percent of the region, an increase from 6.14 percent last week, according to the Monitor, based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The category peaked Aug. 21 at 6.31 percent.
The four levels combined increased to 64.16 percent from 63.39 percent last week, the highest this year, the Monitor reported. The previous high was 63.86 percent on July 24.
“Persistence of hot and dry conditions let to expansion of extreme drought and exceptional drought in northern and central Oklahoma, as well as southeastern Texas,” according to an analysis by David Simeral of the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno, Nevada.