“Although the United States remains the breadbasket of the world, a drought, heat wave, or changing weather patterns in the U.S, could have devastating effects throughout the global food supply.”

-Jim Bakker in “Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse”

This week’s update of the “exceptional drought” offered some small improvement.

By “exceptional drought”, we refer only to the most dire of drought categories as labeled by the weekly “Drought Monitor” product, a collaborative effort of the National Climatic Data Center, the USDA, and the Naitonal Drought Mitigation Center.

Welcomed rainfall, if only scattered in nature, soaked parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley, bringing relief to the exceptional drought in parts of Louisiana.

However, little or no significant relief has occurred in what is quickly becoming a drought to challenge the record books in the Plains, from southern Kansas to Texas and the southern Rockies and Southwest.

This massive exceptional drought, stretching from Arizona to Louisiana, and also persisting in parts of Georgia covers just under 11% of the land area of the Lower 48 States, or around 340,000 square miles. This area is almost as large as the entire Northeast region of 13 states (Maine to Virginia) plus the District of Columbia and Carolinas!

Taking into account any level of drought, not simply the most dire category, 32% of the Lower 48 States is in drought right now, or about 1,000,008 square miles. This area of drought is much greater than the size of Mexico (just over 761,000 sq. miles per the U.S. State Department) and almost the size of Argentina (1,068,019 sq. miles)!

As Meteorologist Tim Ballisty explained in an article in late June, this drought-parched ground can heat up more rapidly, helping to worsen and extend the drought.

Let’s take a look at the hardest hit states in this “Drought of 2011″.

Texas

% of state in exceptional drought: 73%

Cities affected: Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Midland, Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls

Groundwater depletion requiring pumps to be lowered or wells drilled deeper in Ft. Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. San Angelo wells reaching record lows.

Outlook next 5 days: No significant rain expected.

New Mexico

% of state in exceptional drought: 47%

Cities affected: Roswell, Truth or Consequences, Las Cruces

88% of state’s rangeland and pastures in poor or very poor conditions at end of July, per the USDA.

Outlook next 5 days: Scattered t-storms, but little/no widespread significant relief.

Colorado

% of state in exceptional drought: 2%

City affected: Alamosa

20 counties now declared federal disaster areas.

Outlook next 5 days: Scattered afternoon t-storms may produce local 1″+ rainfall

Oklahoma

% of state in exceptional drought: 64%

Cities affected: Oklahoma City, Norman, Enid, Ardmore, Lawton, Clinton, Guymon

July was hottest month on record in Oklahoma. 74 counties declared federal disaster areas. Sales of livestock at Okla. Nat’l Stock Yards twice those in 2010 due to drought.

Outlook next 5 days: Scattered t-storms with isolated 1″+ rainfall amounts.

Kansas

% of state in exceptional drought: 15%

Cities affected: Medicine Lodge, Liberal, Hutchinson

Drought emergency declared in 15 counties. Counties can request permit to pump water from state fishing lakes.

Outlook next 5 days: Scattered t-storms with local 1″+ rainfall totals.

Arizona

% of state in exceptional drought: 5%

Cities affected: Douglas, Sierra Vista

64% of rangeland and pastures in poor or very poor condition, per USDA.

Outlook next 5 days: Daily scattered afternoon t-storms with isolated 1″+ amounts.

Louisiana

% of state in exceptional drought: 18% (dropped from 64% three weeks ago)

Cities affected: Alexandria

New Orleans picked up 13″ of rain in July, over twice their July average.

Outlook next 5 days: Only widely-scattered t-storms with little widespread drought relief.

Georgia

% of state in exceptional drought: 4% (dropped from 36% two weeks ago)

Cities affected: Macon, Savannah

32% of cotton crop rated poor or very poor as of July 31 in Georgia, per USDA.

Outlook next 5 days: Scattered t-storms with local 1″+ amounts. Some drought relief.

Source: The Weather Channel – Exceptional Drought: State by State