A large swath of the U.S. remains in extreme or exceptional drought says Freight Waves. Less than two inches of rain has fallen across much of West Texas since last October, compared with an average of about 10 inches over the same period last year.
The exceptional drought in the Panhandle—an area dominated by agriculture—has more than doubled in size. Many farmers rely on precipitation to help water their crops as pumping groundwater is the only other option.
“It’s going to be in the billions in terms of crop loss,” said Darren Hudson, director of the International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
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