The Perfect Drought

Since the turn of the millenium, the Southwestern United States has been suffering through a drought that matches predictions made by computer models of global warming. High pressure over the Pacific has redirected the moist jetstream northward, bringing heavy rains to Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. Meanwhile, San Diego has seen eight years in a row of precipitation below its annual average of 10.77 inches. The last two years have been the driest since record-keeping began in 1801. Oak and pine forests are retreating upslope in the East County mountains. Large areas of highly drought-tolerant chapparral are dying. Bird populations are declining and several species have shifted their range. A U.S. Geological Survey report released in June 2004 said that based on water levels in the Colorado River basin, the drought "may be comparable to or more severe than the largest-known drought in 500 years." In each of the last three years, more than 8 million acres of wildlands burned nationwide, mostly in the West, costing an average of $1.3 billion per year to fight.