Intense Drought Tightens Grip, Spreads To the High Plains

Two false-color images from NASA's Aqua satellite, one from May 24, 2012, and the other from May 5, 2014, show the evolution of drought in Texas and Oklahoma. Green is indicative of vegetation. (Images: NASA. Animation: Tom Yulsman) In the already parched Plains of the United States, intense drought "seems to be waking up and pushing rapidly north along with warmer temperatures." That's the grim assessment, issued yesterday, from the U.S. Drought Monitor. The bullseye of this expanding misery is Texas, large portions of which have been in drought for close to four years. As of this week, 21 percent of the state is categorized as being in exceptional drought — the most intense of the Drought Monitor categories. That's up from 13 percent a year ago. Overall, more than 80 percent of the state is experiencing some degree of drought. The animation above, centered on the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma, shows how conditions have changed between 2012 and today. It consists of two false-color images from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite, one from May 24, 2012, and the other from May 5, 2014. Green is indicative of vegetation. Bodies of water, mostly reservoirs, appear black. (The images show what's known as the 7-2-1 composite from the MODIS instrument. For more information, go here.)