The recent heat wave in the U.S. is causing such a severe dry spell for the entire country that a climatologist for the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln has estimated that over 60 percent of the U.S. is currently suffering from drought, the Associated Press reports. American farmers may see a poor harvest this year if temperatures and precipitation don’t return to normal. Many fields of corn, wheat, durum, and barley have already been destroyed. North and South Dakota are so dry that ponds are drying up and dusty soil is beginning to blow around. Farmers are comparing the conditions to the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, and some believe that this drought is even worse. While some experts say it’s too soon to assess damages, a meteorologist for Agriculture Department has already gone on record by saying that the U.S. is suffering from a drought that started in 1999 and it’s the worst ever recorded. The drought is also affecting livestock. Hot dry dust and fire is consuming all crops, and ranchers are being forced to sell off their herds of cattle. Last year the Herreid Livestock Auction Company sold 3,800 […]