On Wednesday (August 1, 2012) , the U.S. Agriculture Department added 218 counties from 12 drought-stricken states to its list of natural disaster areas, bringing the overall total to 1,584 counties in 32 states. That's more than half of all U.S. counties, and the vast majority of them received the designation because of drought.
Jim Suther, Associated Press / Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune
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(August 2, 2012) A dock extends into a dry cove where grass has begun to grow at Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Ind., Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. The reservoir is six feet below normal levels. More than half of U.S. counties now are classified by the federal government as natural disaster areas mostly because of the drought. The U.S. Agriculture Department on Wednesday added 218 counties in a dozen states as disaster areas. That brings this year's total to 1,584 in 32 states, more than 90 percent of them because of the drought. Photo: Michael Conroy, Associated Press - Ap
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor survey shows an increase in extreme drought conditions in four Plains states but a slight decrease in the overall area of the lower 48 states experiencing some form of drought.
The map posted Thursday on the monitor's website shows that nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states is experiencing some drought. Recent rainfall pushed the percentage down to 62.91, from last week's 63.86.