A drought that settled over more than half of the continental United States in the summer of 2012 was the most widespread in more than half a century. And on the brink of winter, it showed no signs of abating.
More than 62 percent of the continental United States was experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, according to the weekly Drought Monitor report released in early December 2012, compared with just over 29 percent a year previously.
Drought Expected to Last Almost Until Spring
Save for patches of California, Montana and Wyoming, the drought was expected to persist in most of the dry regions west of the Mississippi River over the next three months, according to the Seasonal Drought Outlook, released Dec. 6 by the National Weather Service.