Flash Drought. Ever heard of it? Most haven’t, but they are becoming a big danger to farmers around the world. A recent study found that droughts in general are being triggered faster. Flash droughts seem to only come in the growing seasons, mostly Summer, but also Spring and Fall. What happens is the air gets so hot and so dry that it sucks water right out of plants and soil. The term Flash Drought took off in 2012 when a sudden drought struck the Central U. S., one of the worst since the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. China was hit by a drought last year, shot temperatures up to extremes, triggered wildfires and dried up much of the Yangtze River, all within a month.
The current drought in the Oklahoma-Texas Panhandle and Kansas started two years ago as a Rapid Onset Drought and has been especially bad for AG because of the low soil moisture levels. What do we do about it? Scientists are still trying to come up with short-term and long-term solutions.
The U. S. Department of Agriculture is working with farmers and ranchers to come up with new techniques to combat drought situations and be as prepared as possible and as aware as possible of conditions that could lead to a flash drought.
