Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire US in historic record mega drought?

The fire season thread made me think of this article about the current drought in the west. In short, we’ve been here four times before since AD 800, but this one is a doozy.

http://www.longrangeweather.com/ArticleArchives/NewUsDrought.htm

“In September of 2020, I reported on a recent study from Columbia University that was published in Science Advances, that the western U.S. has experienced one of its driest 20-year periods in approximately 1,000 years. Despite a few wet years, the southwestern regions may be in the midst of another “megadrought,” which, according to tree ring data, can last for decades. Since 800 A.D., evidence shows that there have been four previous megadroughts. They occurred in the late 800s, the mid-1100s, the 1200s and the late 1500s.

Researchers compared soil moisture records calculated since 2000 and concluded that the current drought is “already outdoing the three earliest ones.” The worst megadrought in the West likely occurred from 1575 to 1603. The article also states that the ancient droughts went on at least for several decades, but the one in the 1200s lasted for nearly a century.”

If that’s true, they are fuucked.

What a colossal lie. Every year and every condition always becomes the worst ever. They forget the dry years leading up to the fires in Yellowstone in 1988, when it had been so dry for years previous that the moisture content in the dead trees in Yellowstone was lower than what you would find in the wood furniture in your house. But, that isn't relevant now, because they want to make a point and scream "The Sky is falling" and "The earth is burning up."

No matter what the condition, it will always be catastrophic, because normal isn't interesting.

It's hard to buy a rain here.

Sounds le more Global Warming Bullschitt.

We’ve had three of the wettest years on record here. 😜

Thanks for that writeup. there is hardly a doubt that the tree rings are somewhat accurate too. The sad part it is that many will think it is climate change and crap like that.

It's rained so much here, we are behind on several summer projects, it has rained over 4" today so far and it's still raining. Rio7

I love the mountain west states. The scenic beauty, the history, the vast open space, and the culture but reading all of these post about droughts and the dried up lakes and creek beds makes me appreciate my home state of Michigan. We have our problems but drought or lack of water is never a serious problem here.

Have lived in Utah 42 years now....

Yea...purty damm badd

We really need a week of soaking rain

I’ve put in my order as well, but haven’t got the confirmation email......

I just hope it’s one of those “couple of decades” droughts. If it’s going to be like the one that lasted over 100 years there would be some changes around these parts.

I wish I could send some of our rain to those out west. I can’t even mow my grass, it never stops raining. Seriously sick of the constant rain.

I’ve lived here my whole life and I can’t ever remember it being this dry.

We have had a sheitload of rain this year, my pastures are knee deep and I'm overstocked. Learned a long time ago to never complain about rain and baby calves.

Dang - it's rained so much this spring, that we're all the way down to
Severe Drought.

I remember reading somewhere several years ago that the last century had been one of the wettest in several thousand years in the West and that much of the Western US would be pretty much uninhabitable at current population levels if things returned to climatic normal.

Cuzza Trump

Hahahaha!

Yeah. Its like a tropical rain forest now.

Don't forget the dust bowl days in the midwest that went on for a decade. Combined with the depression, it really put the whammy on a bunch of people. Besides the dry, the farming practices of the time dumped millions of tons of dust in the air.

Since 800 A.D., evidence shows that there have been four previous megadroughts. They occurred in the late 800s, the mid-1100s, the 1200s and the late 1500s.

Researchers compared soil moisture records calculated since 2000 and concluded that the current drought is “already outdoing the three earliest ones.” The worst megadrought in the West likely occurred from 1575 to 1603. The article also states that the ancient droughts went on at least for several decades, but the one in the 1200s lasted for nearly a century.”


I'm not real smart, but is anyone else confused by this?
We are in a 20 year drought.

The text says it's out doing the first three, then says they lasted SEVERAL decades. Then says the third lasted for "nearly a century".

Or am I confusing time for moisture levels?