Atmospheric Response to 1988 Drought Conditions and Future Climate Implications

Plentiful precipitation in the central United States is one of the basic components of the successful agricultural industry in the Corn Belt. A combination of moisture, wind, and topographic factors creates an ideal condition for rainfall over most of the region during the late spring and early summer. In 1988, many ingredients necessary for wet weather were absent. The region experienced a drought unequalled since the 1930\u27s. The drought of 1988 demonstrated chat the symptom of drought, namely, dry soils, can exacerbate and even perpetuate drought conditions by decreasing available moisture, altering circulation patterns vital to storm development, and increasing air temperatures. Models that predict future climate change, forecast char dry conditions, such as chose in 1988, will become more prevalent in the future greenhouse atmosphere of the central United States. Many of the smaller-scale effects, which were important in perpetuating the drought of 1988, could not be anticipated from these poor-resolution climate models. Therefore, great care should be taken in interpreting these forecast results