The West has been so dry and so hot for so long that its current drought has no modern precedent, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist.
For the first time in 122 years of record-keeping, drought covers almost the entire Western U.S. as measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index, said Richard Heim, a drought historian and an author of the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“It’s a very simple ‘yes,’ in terms of this drought being unprecedented,” Heim said.
Source: A drought like no other, NOAA scientist says | Water | capitalpress.com