Increasingly Severe Droughts in U.S.

in severity in many parts of the United States. In the Southeast and Northwest, drought conditions range from moderate to extreme, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In pockets of West Texas, the Central Appalachians, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Iowa, and eastern Tennessee, drought conditions range from dry to severe. Precipitation in the Great Plains has been so low that water stopped flowing from the Rio Grande River into the Gulf of Mexico in February. In Washington, Governor Gary Locke declared a statewide drought emergency in March. See

www.drought.noaa.gov.