Flash drought hits the US Northern Plains and Canada.
A rapidly worsening drought in the United States shows no sign of easing anytime soon.
A lack of rain and a long-lived heatwave are to blame for the explosive growth of the drought that has hit Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota, but is also growing into southern sections of Canada.
The dire situation affecting the northern-central US border states and southern regions of Canada’s Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces only began in late May.
But as the ongoing event moved into the summer months it was then the growing heatwave that expanded the severity of the drought situation.
In the state of Montana, Gov.
The town of Glasgow, Montana, shattered a 99-year-old record for the driest April through June period.
The heatwave has been on the increase over the last several weeks with daytime high temperatures reaching into the mid-30s Celsius for the affected areas of the U.S. and Canada.
Some forecast models suggest this excessive heat will persist and expand through late July.
Lack of moisture in the soil also means that less moisture is transferred back to the atmosphere, in turn leading to less cloud formation and less rain generated by clouds and thunderstorms.