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The 100th Meridian, Where the Great Plains Begin, May Be Shifting
- justherefortart 9y agoI live on this line (Oklahoma). We go through feast or famine with water here and have for 100s of years. Here's a nice graph from OWRB (old 2011 data but still shows the swings): https://i.imgur.com/vLA1hAk.png https://i.imgur.com/vLA1hAk.png Source: (slow loading) http://www.owrb.ok.gov/supply/drought/pdf_dro/DroughtFactSheet2011.pdf http://www.owrb.ok.gov/supply/drought/pdf_dro/DroughtFactShe... It's on page 2.
- tantalor 9y agoIf rainfall is normally distributed, then this outcome is expected anywhere. Are you trying to say that the average (34") is near the threshold for feast/famine?
- justherefortart 9y agoFeast or famine was a turn of phrase, meant to illustrate that we're either flooding or in a drought along this 100th Meridian.
- Retric 9y agoThe minimum seems to be ~19 inches which is quite a bit of rain. Around 1/2 the US averages less than that: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/climate/US%20Climate%20Maps/Lower%2048%20States/Precipitation/Mean%20Total%20Precipitation/Gallery/mean-total-precipitation.html http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/climate/US%20Climate%20...
- justherefortart 9y agoThis is the state average. Typically the western part of the state (west of the 100th Meridian) is dry as a bone and in constant drought, while the eastern side is flush with water. Along the 100th we get both extremes. This summarizes it pretty much perfectly: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?OK http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor...
- davidw 9y agoI'm not well versed in that kind of thing, but doesn't "drought" just mean with respect to the average? In other words, what counts for a drought in western Oregon is different from a drought in southern Arizona, right?
- planteen 9y agoYes, drought is for a region based on its averages. One problem is droughts and wet spells can happen on periods with length of a decade.
- hinkley 9y agoDuring the flood of ‘93 things got so bad there were college professors making allowances for people who wanted (or needed) to leave school and go bag sand along the Mississippi. Edit: this despite the peak of the flood happening weeks before fall semesters were due to start. Wonder when the next one will be.
- neuronexmachina 9y agoFrom the article, it looks like precipitation has varied normally, but temperature has been increasing: > Now, the researchers say, warming climate appears to be pushing the divide east. In the northern plains, rainfall has not changed much, but temperatures are going up, increasing evaporation from the soil. Further south, concurrent shifts in wind patterns are in fact causing less rain to fall. Either way, this tends to push western aridity eastward. Data collected since about 1980 suggests that the statistical divide between humid and arid has now shifted closer to the 98th meridian, some 140 miles east. You can see the statewide temperature increase over time here: http://climate.ok.gov/index.php/climate/climate_trends/temperature_history_annual_statewide/CD00/tavg/Annual/oklahoma_climate http://climate.ok.gov/index.php/climate/climate_trends/tempe...
- wstrange 9y agoDriving down a corduroy road, Weeds standing shoulder high Ferris wheel is rusting off in the distance At the hundredth meridian At the hundredth meridian At the hundredth meridian Where the great plains begin
- waterside81 9y agoHello fellow Canadian
- Naga 9y agoI want to emphasize the YouTube video at the bottom of the article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCFo0a8V-Ag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCFo0a8V-Ag As soon as I saw the headline, I knew I couldn't let a reference to my favourite band go unmentioned. It is almost criminal how underappreciated the Tragically Hip are as a band.
- pilom 9y agoIf you'd like to read more about this, I recommend John Wesley Powell's biography: "Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West" https://amzn.to/2H2v7oZ https://amzn.to/2H2v7oZ
- rat_1234 9y agoAnother good one (though a bit dated now) is Great Plains by Ian Frazier. https://www.amazon.com/Great-Plains-Ian-Frazier/dp/0312278500 https://www.amazon.com/Great-Plains-Ian-Frazier/dp/031227850...
- mcguire 9y agoYou may also be interested in the Ogallala aquifer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer), which is kind of important to agriculture west of the 100th (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ogallala-aquifer/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ogallala-aqui...).
- haZard_OS 9y agoIf you're interested in some newer data for the High Plains Aquifer (AKA Ogallala Aquifer), try this: https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-high-plains-aquifer-groundwater-levels-continue-decline https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-high-plains-aquifer-groundwat...
- rdlecler1 9y agoTipping my hat to the Tragically Hip reference. RIP Gordy.
- Latteland 9y ago"New Orleans is sinking man and I don't wanna swim".
- chiefalchemist 9y agoWhat is it about the climate change weather patterns that's pushing the line East? It's not like the Rockies have gotten taller. That is, a storm moving east is depleted when it hits the Rockies. That leaves a desert to the East. Are there less storms? Faster moving storms? Both?
- Thrymr 9y ago"In the northern plains, rainfall has not changed much, but temperatures are going up, increasing evaporation from the soil. Further south, concurrent shifts in wind patterns are in fact causing less rain to fall. Either way, this tends to push western aridity eastward." - the linked article
- chiefalchemist 9y agoThx. Sorry. I missed that.
- AnimalMuppet 9y agoThe 100th Meridian coincides almost exactly with the western edge of the Gulf of Mexico. If I understand correctly, moisture comes up from the south, not just from the Rockies. If the wind pattern changes so that more air comes from the west and less from the south, that moisture flow is reduced.
- sverige 9y agoActually, a lot of storms start along the front range of the Rockies and then roll east from there.
- socialist_coder 9y agoFascinating! It's very interesting to see some real life effects of climate change in the lower 48. I would love to see some future projections here.
- haZard_OS 9y agoThere are many more examples: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/downloads-indicators-report https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/downloads-indicators-...
- socialist_coder 9y agoThanks for that link! Never seen that before.
- sohkamyung 9y agoMaybe it's just me, but that headline sounds as if the 100th Meridian, rather than where the Great Plains begin, is shifting. Perhaps a better headline would be "The Great Plains, which began at the 100 Meridian, may be shifting".
- gricardo99 9y agoIt’s a play on a song lyric https://g.co/kgs/AgyHpo https://g.co/kgs/AgyHpo
- sohkamyung 9y agoAh, I see. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with that part of (edit: North) American culture.
- benplant 9y agoMore of a Canadian culture reference, or at least more widely recognized in Canada.