THE CHANGING SEASONS: CORNUCOPIA 
U.S. Drought Monitor 
August 5, 2008 
Valid 6 a.m. £OT 
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131 DO Abnormally Dry 
r~l D1 Drougbl - Moderate 
■ D2 Drought - Severe 
■ D3 Drought - Extreme 
■ D4 Drought - Exceptional 
Drowsht Impact Types. 
Delineates dominant impacts 
A = Agricultural (crops, pastures. 
grasslands) 
H = Hydrological (water) 
D1AH 
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The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions 
Local conditions may vary. See accompanying text summary 
for forecast statements 
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http://drought.unl.edu/dm 
Released Thursday, August 7, 2008 
Author: Brian Fuchs, National Drought Mitigation Center 
U.S. Drought Monitor 
November 25, 2008 
Vali()8a.m.EST 
injsmty: 
SB DO Abnormally Dry 
n D1 Drought - Moderate 
■ D2 Drought • Severe 
■I D3 Drought - Extreme 
■ D4 Drought - Exceptional 
Pxrnighi.imm^Jyith.^i 
Delineates dominant impacts 
A = Agricultural (crops, pastures. 
grasslands) 
H = Hydrological (water) 
The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions 
Local conditions may vary See accompanying text summary 
for forecast statements 
http://drought.unl.edu/dm 
USDA 
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Released Wednesday, November 26, 2008 
Author: Brad Bippey, U.S. Department of Agriculture 
Figure 2. As these graphics from the beginning (5 August, above) and close (25 November) of the autumn 2008 season indicate, the 
barrage of landfalling hurricanes in autumn 2008 did manage to reduce drought conditions in Texas and the Southeast but did not 
eradicate them. Severe drought persisted over much of California's Central Valley through the season. By the end of November, 22 
percent of the Lower 48 states' expanse suffered moderate-to-exceptiona! drought, with extreme-to-exceptional drought conditions 
in the western Carolinas, northeastern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and the Hill Country of Texas. Images courtesy and ©The National 
Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Asheville, North Carolina. 
the continent, from Colorado to New Jersey, 
north to Canada and south to the Gulf Coast 
and Caribbean islands. The 2008 Atlantic hur- 
ricane season was very active one: the Nation- 
al Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Na- 
tional Hurricane Center identified 16 named 
storms, eight of these ranking as hurricanes 
and five of those as major hurricanes. It was 
the fourth most active storm season since 1944 
and the only year in which a major Atlantic 
hurricane existed in every month from July 
through November. Ten of the past 14 seasons 
have been well above average in storm activity. 
We struggle to keep pace with the increasing 
number of bird records submitted in connec- 
tion with these storms and continue to implore 
observers to bird safely in foul weather, to 
make good notes and take as many images of 
birds as possible (try video-scoping at your fa- 
vorite seawatch or lakewatch), and, with prop- 
er permits, to salvage as many specimens of 
unusual species as is feasible. We learn some- 
thing new with each season that passes, and 
with the increasing volume of information, we 
must surely turn to centralized electronic 
archives such as eBird (<www.ebird.org>) to 
synthesize our sightings. 
The 2009 season stretched from late May 
(the early Tropical Storm Arthur) well into 
November (with the unusually powerful and 
late Hurricane Paloma) and ranked as the 
third most costly on record, behind only the 
2004 and 2005 seasons, with over $41 billion 
in damage overall. Haiti was badly damaged 
by four consecutive storms (Fay, Gustav, 
Hanna, and Ike)-, Ike also devastated Cuba and 
Galveston, Texas. Overall, the season set sev- 
eral ominous new records: six consecutive 
tropical cyclones (Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gus- 
tav, Hanna, and Ike) hit the United States 
mainland, which has never been recorded 
previously; and in Cuba, a record three major 
hurricanes (Gustav, Ike, and Paloma) made 
landfall, some in multiple locations. Meteo- 
rologists note lingering La Nina effects, such 
as light wind shear, and continuing warm sea- 
water temperatures over the tropical At- 
lantic — an average of 1.0° F above normal — 
as factors in this active and deadly season. On 
the positive side of the equation, several of 
the storms brought much-needed rain to 
parched parts of eastern Texas and central 
Florida. The negative side of the ledger would 
fill a dozen issues of this journal, but suffice it 
to say here that areas of Florida and Alabama 
barely recovering from Hurricanes Charlie 
(2004), Ivan (2004), and Wilma (2005) were 
set back severely, while the Texas and 
Louisiana coasts, still reeling from recent 
storms, were aghast at their damage. For yet 
another year, the Upper Texas Coast’s coastal 
woodlands, including so many areas cher- 
ished by birders worldwide, were flooded by 
salt water and stripped by high winds; many 
of these areas were just beginning to come 
back from damage in 2005 (Katrina, Rita) and 
2007 (Humberto). 
For those who are fascinated by the storms 
themselves, or curious to read more about the 
18 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
