1988 North American Drought

1988 North American Drought

Coordinates: 46°N 94°W / 46°N 94°W / 46; -94 The North American Drought of 1988 was one of the worst droughts ever in the United States. It was a multi-year drought which began in 1988 and continued into 1989. The drought caused $60 billion in damage (between $80 billion and $120 billion for 2008 USD). The drought was the occasion of the worst blowing-dust events since 1977 or the 1930s in many locations in the Middle West including a protracted one which closed schools in South Dakota in late February 1988. During the spring records for lowest monthly total and longest interval between measurable precipitation were set, for example, 55 days in a row without rain in Milwaukee, and during the summer two record-setting heat waves developed, exactly as they did in 1934 and 1936. The concurrent heat waves killed 4,800 to 17,000 people in the United States. During the summer of 1988, the drought led to many forest fires in Western North America, including the Yellowstone fire. At its peak, the drought covered 45% of the United States. This seems minor when compared to the Dust Bowl's 70%, but the drought of 1988 is not only the costliest drought in US history, it was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, prior to Hurricane Katrina. In Canada, drought-related losses added up to about 1.8 billion dollars.